Find the Kingdom of God!

Matthew 13:44-52

This hard rubber ball is the treasured possession of our Golden Retriever, Travis. He loves to chase and retrieve it. He loves to lie on the floor and chew on it. He loves to hold it in his mouth as he greets family or friends in our house. Other than people and food, Travis loves this more than anything else.

When we take Travis outside and he does not have his ball, we say, “Find it!” He immediately searches the house looking for his prized ball. He returns to us, tail wagging, hair flying, and drops it at our feet before we open the door to the backyard and begin a game of retrieving the ball.

When I say, “Find it!” Travis knows what I mean. If I asked you to find your prized possession, what would you show me? A football or a ball bat? A doll or an action figure? A musical instrument or an iPad? We all have prized possessions.

If I asked Jesus to find his prized possession, what would he show me? The Hebrew Scriptures? Perhaps what his followers wrote – gospels or epistles? Bread and wine? His disciples?

I think Jesus would show me the kingdom of heaven, and then explain that it is not a material possession like a doll or an action figure, a book or even a house. The kingdom of heaven is how God – Father, Son and Holy Spirit – welcomes all of us as brothers and sisters to live together with Him.

Jesus would then tell us that we can have the kingdom of heaven right now if in our hearts we ask him for it. Let’s do that today and every day. Let’s ask God for his kingdom each time we say the Lord’s Prayer, each time we pray the Our Father.

Let us pray. Heavenly Father, from whom all fatherhood in heaven and earth is named: Bless all children, and give their fathers and mothers the spirit of wisdom and love, so that the homes in which they grow up may be to them an image of Your Kingdom, and the care of their parents a likeness of Your love. We pray in the Name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen.