What a rollercoaster of weather this week has been (this winter, for that matter). I took this picture just before sunrise on Monday with the temperature at 12 degrees. Tuesday afternoon it was 50 degrees and pouring rain. All the snow in this picture melted, as well as the frozen lake. Now, noon on Wednesday, it is 25 degrees and the lake is freezing again,and there is a scattering of snow everywhere.
As I walked in the bitter wind this morning, I continued my thinking about the Kingdom of God, thinking which I began Sunday evening. It seems that the Kingdom of God is the heart of Jesus' preaching in word and deed. The first words of Jesus in Mark's Gospel are, "Now is the time of fulfillment; and the kingdom of God is at hand. Repent and belive in the Good News."
The Greek word that is translated "kingdom" is more accurately translated "reign." It means the act of ruling, not the place over which the king rules. I have recently started to call God "Spirit of Love," following John's letter that says "God is Love." So, I hear Jesus saying that the Reign of Love is at hand. This Reign of Love had been going on before Jesus, but now it has come to fulfillment.
Love reigns, not by force, but by attraction. Love gives life and meaning to the world not by pushing it forward from the past, but by calling it into the freshness of an always new future. Love intensifies the beauty of Love's creation.
My response to this Reign of Love is faith and a change of heart. I surrender to Love in faith and let Love draw me into a more and more loving way of life.
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