A Part of the Kingdom

Sometimes old memories seem as fresh as this morning.  One of those old but vivid memories was created while I was sitting on the edge of the gym bleachers in the eighth grade waiting for the coach to open up an old box that contained basketball team uniforms that had been worn by boys before me who had made the team.  So many of the previous afternoons had been filled with the sounds of out of breath boys doing wind sprints up and down the gym floor, basketballs bouncing up and down and up and down again, and the hollering voice of the coach who kept after us to get it right.  But, this afternoon with the boxes being opened, there was a hush that had settled over all of us as we waited.

It is one of my first memories of belonging and of receiving something which marked me as one of those who did.  It had cost a lot of effort, a lot of time, and a lot of sweat, but no one was counting the cost as those shorts and jerseys were pulled out of the box.  Years later I came to understand that an invitation was being given to me to become a part of the Kingdom of heaven.  It took me some time to understand that it cost me nothing, but instead, cost Jesus so much.  There were times when it seemed like a costly venture on my part, but in hindsight, I have come to understand that my presence within the Kingdom of God is all about grace.

When Jesus died on the cross, the door to the Kingdom of God was flung wide enough for all the sinners of the world to gain admission, including me.  Since that night so long ago when I said "Yes" to Christ, I have been a part of His Kingdom.  Despite all the teachings of Jesus and all the parables, there remains such mystery surrounding my understanding of what it means to be a part of what God is doing in the world.  The gratitude owed for being brought into this realm of life is one which can never be adequately expressed and neither are any words of joy sufficient.