Christian Living

Wakanda and the Kingdom of God

by jay supetran
05/08/18
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Romans 14:17-18 – for the Kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit, because anyone who serves Christ in this way is pleasing to God and receives human approval.

During the medieval times, communities developed as a result of the social contract between a lord and his vassals. The Lord with his manor or his castle provides protection to the people living around the manor. The vassals, common people who seek the protection of the lord, are allowed to work on the land around the manor. One thing is required of the vassals. They are expected to be loyal to the lord and to give portion of their harvest and anything produced from the land as tax.  As long as the vassals are under the protection of the lord, they can live abundantly. Outside of the lord’s protection, they are fair game for malevolent elements. From these communities grew the kingdoms in Europe.

The community of believers has the same arrangement. It is a Kingdom where God is the absolute monarch, reigning in our lives. And this Kingdom is not something we can experience when we die. It is here and now.  We may be frustrated with the posturing of political leaders and how greed continuously destroy and pollute not only the environment but the soul of many people. That condition is outside the Gods’ manor.

We who belong to God’s people are shielded from this corrupt world order. To borrow an illustration from a popular movie, it is like the nation of Wakanda, prosperous, modern and technically advanced, protected with an energy shield from the poverty and squalor of other nations in Africa, a utopian place for black people.  Who would not want to be part of that nation?

Wakanda is a fantasy created by writers of Marvel Comics, while the Kingdom of God is real. We can feel and experience it despite the chaos of the world.  But we do have part in making the Kingdom felt in our lives. Among the believers of Jesus Christ, we have to work on three elements as written by Apostle Paul.

The first is righteousness. It means we have to abhor sin and strive to do what is right.  Righteousness should be observed in our family in the church and other social institutions.

We should praise those who do right and remind those who do wrong to desist from doing unrighteous acts.

Second, we have to promote peace. This is one of the most elusive thing in the world. But inside the Kingdom there is peace. People are contented and are free from want.  

The third is joy in the Holy Spirit. Joy is God-given.  One cannot have joy if he is far from God. We have heard of celebrities who feel empty despite the wealth and the attention given to them. The presence of other people and material things cannot fill the void left by God. We have joy in the Holy Spirit, the Comforter who gives us hope when we are down.  And so in the Kingdom of God, we can celebrate.