This afternoon, I am reminded of a parable and a prophecy about the Kingdom of God from my reading of the Gospel according to Luke.
In Luke chapter 16, our Lord Iesus told a parable that had appeared to me somewhat vague, even confusing to me, for many years. Two verses, in particular, seem to contradict one another in this Parable of the Dishonest Steward. They are verse 9 and verse 11, as shown below:
- Luke 16:9, 11 NIV New International Version
- 9 I tell you, use worldly wealth to gain friends for yourselves, so that when it is gone, you will be welcomed into eternal dwellings.
- 11 So if you have not been trustworthy in handling worldly wealth, who will trust you with true riches?
About nine years ago, as I pondered over the above passage again, it occurred to me that, unlike other parables, this parable carries two lessons.
The first one is that we should make use of our earthly ("ungodly") wealth to bring new friends into the Kingdom of God so that, when our earthly wealth fails, these friends will welcome us in the Kingdom.
The second is that, if we are dishonest and untrustworthy with earthly wealth, as the dishonest steward was, how then can we be trusted with the true riches of the Kingdom of God?
This realisation led me to write down my thoughts in September 2013, please see link entitled, "One Parable, Two Lessons" at the end of this page.
From the same chapter in my reading of Luke's Gospel today, I am also reminded of the words of our Lord Iesus who explained to his followers that, beginning with the coming of John the Baptist, the Torah and the Prophets were no longer proclaimed. Instead, the Kingdom of God is being preached, and everone is "forcing" their way into this Kingdom. See verse 16 below:
- Luke 16:16 NIV
- The Law and the Prophets were proclaimed until John. Since that time, the good news of the kingdom of God is being preached, and everyone is forcing their way into it.
What does our Lord mean by the saying that everone is forcing their way into the Kingdom of God? I have written my thoughts and observations on this passage, with reference to a prophecy recorded in Micah chapter 2, in two blog posts: first in April 2014 and again in December 2017. (Please see links below:)
- One Parable, Two Lessons (22Sep2013)
- The Kingdom of God is at hand (19Apr2014)
- Breaking out into the Kingdom of God (16Dec2017)
Brothers and Sisters in the Lord Iesus, let us endeavour to be found as faithful stewards in the Kingdom of God. Let us press on.
