Fourth Sunday after Pentecost: Gospel, Mark 4:26-34           

Mark 4:26-34       

We are good at getting our hands into the mix of “building” God’s kingdom. Think about it. The sheer volume of writing and now podcasting regarding the best ways to build the church is staggering at the least. The methods, the strategy and tactics. I used to work in purchasing for a Christian bookstore and I can tell you, the aisles could literally be choked with such information. 

While I rejoice that we are called as God’s Christians, His disciples, to learn His ways and implement them in this world, we would do well to first remember, they are His ways that we are to follow. A great deal of harm has been done, at least to the American church in the last sixty or so years by coming to believe while God is on the throne, we can probably figure out better, more relevant ways to build the church than what was penned millenia ago.

There’s a deep theological term to describe that view: Baloney. Don’t misunderstand. We need to work hard in the fields white to harvest. But our eyes must be on the Master who sends us, and our ears ever attentive to His direction. The kingdom is His after all and we are members only because He says so and gifts us accordingly. God be praised! Yes, the kingdom is His.