Who owns the Kingdom of God?
Before you say ‘God’, followed by ‘that’s a dumb question’, let me include something Jesus says in Luke 12:32.
“Don’t be afraid, little flock. For it gives your Father great happiness to give you the kingdom.”
Uh-oh.
Wait, maybe ‘give’ in the greek means something totally different. Let’s check it out at blueletterbible.org.
to give something to someone
a) of one’s own accord to give one something, to his advantage
1) to bestow a gift
b) to grant, give to one asking, let have
c) to supply, furnish, necessary things
d) to give over, deliver
Oops.
So here’s my question to you: have you been treating the Kingdom of God like you are an owner?
I was a business owner for a period of time. I worked late, I worked weekends, I spent a lot of my own personal money to run it. I gave it everything I had.
When I went back to working for a corporation, I never, ever worked late. You couldn’t have gotten me there on a weekend with a cattle prod.
I didn’t care if that company made or lost a billion dollars. I did my job, and I did it well enough to get raises and promotions, but I didn’t really care about it.
Jesus talks about this difference in John 10:12-13 as it pertains to shepherds:
“A hired hand will run when he sees a wolf coming. He will abandon the sheep because they don’t belong to him and he isn’t their shepherd. And so the wolf attacks them and scatters the flock. The hired hand runs away because he’s working only for the money and doesn’t really care about the sheep.”
So let me ask you you again: do you treat the Kingdom of Heaven like the co-owner you are? Or are you just treating it like a meal ticket?
Is it so much a part of your life that it’s a part of your identity, or is it just something you do?
Personally, I wouldn’t trust me with God’s shoe. But God has given me so much more.
The difference between an owner and an employee is that an owner bears ultimate responsibility. There’s no one to pass the buck onto. If, as an owner, you don’t do the work - it simply doesn’t get done.
The Kingdom of God is under new management - you.
When people encounter it, are they going to want to become a co-owner with you?