February 3
When we pray “your kingdom come…on earth as it is in heaven,” we are asking God to help us love our neighbor. We are requesting to become a person that “does no wrong to a neighbor”(Romans 13:10). As we pursue this kingdom of love with our lives, acting justly and generously, we are offering true and beautiful worship. (Gray, Derwin, “God, Do You Hear Me?” pg 164)
Good morning Family! This week, following the reading plan for Dr. Derwin Gray’s book “God, Do You Hear Me?”, we are finishing up Dr. Gray’s beautiful explanation of what it means when we pray “your kingdom come. Your will be done on Earth as it is in Heaven.” Chapter 8, “Pursuing Abba’s Kingdom of Love,” is one of my favorite chapters of this great book. Not to take anything away from any of these chapters, because this entire book is incredible, but Dr. Gray’s breakdown of what it means to live in God’s kingdom of love is perfectly on point. Just look at this list of subtitles within the chapter:
- “Loving your neighbors as you love yourself means being generous to the poor.” (Gray, Derwin, “God, Do You Hear Me? pg 156)
- “Loving your neighbors as you love yourself means showing hospitality to people of different ethnicities.” (Gray, Derwin, “God, Do You Hear Me? pg 158)
- “Loving your neighbor as you love yourself means living a life of integrity.” (Gray, Derwin, “God, Do You Hear Me? pg 159)
- “Loving your neighbor as you love yourself means promoting economic justice.” (Gray, Derwin, “God, Do You Hear Me? pg 159)
- “Loving your neighbor as you love yourself means caring for people with disabilities.” (Gray, Derwin, “God, Do You Hear Me? pg 160)
- “Loving your neighbor as you love yourself means promoting an equitable justice system.” (Gray, Derwin, “God, Do You Hear Me? pg 160)
- “Loving your neighbor as you love yourself means pursuing a life of grace, compassion, mercy and forgiveness.” (Gray, Derwin, “God, Do You Hear Me? pg 163)
What a perfect list of attributes to strive for in our priestly role of Kingdom builders. Love the poor. Love ALL people. Live a life of INTEGRITY. Love economic equality. Love those with disabilities. Love a justice system that appropriately holds the criminal accountable for their actions. Pursue a life of GRACE, COMPASSION, MERCY, and FORGIVENESS.
Of the list above my favorite is living a life of integrity. I love that aspect of worship because it puts the responsibility on my shoulders and on yours as well. Only you are to blame for the way you act, behave, and treat others. Integrity is doing the right thing when no one is around. Integrity is the highest form of personal accountability, and one day we will all have to answer whether we lived a life of integrity, or of selfish ambition.
I won’t be able to post again until after the weekend, so I wish you a blessed next few days. I pray God blesses all of you and uses you in some magnificent way to impact someone personally to strengthen the kingdom for the one and only Jesus, our King of Kings.
Speaking of the “One and Only Jesus,” this new song by Vertical Worship is a beautiful melody for you to sing along to. Enjoy.
Common Sense Reborn 