All Good Deeds; Small or Large - Build God’s Kingdom!
Jesus speaks of the Kingdom of God, but never tells where it is? Instead, Jesus simply tells us where to look? Jesus might say today: “Look over there, where Thelma is calling her brother Ralph--the brother, she has separated herself --from--and far too long from his face and heart--as they haven’t spoken all year because of some family money issue."
Thelma today is inviting Ralph to lunch to talk for “old time's sake.” Ralph accepts the invitation. During the luncheon, and after much discussion, many tears and buried hurts shared, they ended their long and upsetting separation. All they had to do was reconcile past grievances, and God’s Kingdom is seen right in that restaurant. And that Jesus would say: “Is the Kingdom right there!”
And we too can do the exact same thing any minute, hour or day when we decide, “to bury the hatchet” and start loving again. Jesus points us towards the correct way and He says: “Look over there, Paul knows that Regis, his neighbor, from down the block lives alone. Paul realizes he hasn’t seen him sitting in his yard for a few days and he decides to ring his doorbell and say hello. Regis answers the door and he lights up with wide grin when he sees its Paul.
Regis explains that his twin brother died and he was simply grieving his loss with no one to share it with. He and Paul chatted for a while, and Regis admitted he was feeling much better. Paul’s kindness in visiting Regis--and Regis' healing from his grief through this neighborly visit--was again--as Jesus would note: “a Kingdom moment happening.
Scriptures does say that the Kingdom of God is seen as flashes of lightening, now here and now there. Paul and Thelma are those flashes of lightening. They took the time to mend something broken or used a casual knock on a neighbor’s door to bring the Kingdom near. And around them lightening flashed around because they did what needed to be done.
Now we can all be Thelma and Paul, for we too have a barrel of good deeds to give away in our lifetime. All we have to do is reach into our barrel and share its contents where needed.
The acts can be as small as a phone call or as big as a knock on the door of a neighbor needing extra care. And through it all, God is cheering us on as He watches us empty that Good Deeds Barrel!
