Kingdom Observation

Matthew 11:7-9, "...Jesus began to speak to the crowds about John, 'What did you go out into the wilderness and see? A reed shaken by the wind? But what did you go out and see? A man dressed in soft clothing?... But what did you go out to see? A prophet?..."

Recently my parents were given a house full of furniture in lieu of rent. From the picture, and at a distance everything looked really nice. Upon closer inspection; in the arms of us movers, and under the scrutiny of sweat, it was not as nice as seen from the pictures.

In comes the Holy Spirit and we all hear something very similar in our spirits... What is wrong with this picture?

For my mom the furniture was representative of the worldly principle of looking good on the outside, but that close inspection reveals a different more damaged perspective. Guess you could call it a lesson that things are not always as they appear.

For me I thought, wow these people took some stuff that was average and made it look spectacular. They made the most of the gift God had given them. On top of that had no physical attachment to it, but were rather people of honor trying to fulfill their obligation anyway possible.

I asked God why the different perspectives between two people who love you? What can be observed from inside the kingdom of God? Not just the outside hearing the Holy Spirit saying something is wrong. The answer I got was surprising.

When you are observing from inside the kingdom of God the only thing wrong with the picture is you. Everything else is perfect.

How many times has the Holy Spirit asked you, what is wrong with this picture? How many times have you assumed you knew what was wrong? How many times have you thought the answer was you? I am not a psychologists, but I know that contained in our judgements of others is always a judgment of ourselves. This thought gives new meaning to judge not lest you be judged. It is our judgments that judge ourselves. Said another way, our judgements are about ourselves, we only broadcast them onto others.

The people of Jesus' time went to the wilderness expecting to see one thing, and they got John the Baptist. So to we go to the kingdom of God in prayer, expecting to see one thing. Expecting have our will imposed on the earth. Expecting to see what is wrong with everyone and everything else. But what we get is God's perfection while our expectations (judgments) only reveal our own weaknesses and flaws.

I saw something in the people's giving up the furniture not present in myself, a godly trait I don't have. I saw people willing to let go. Others may see something that is present. Regardless, remember that in the kingdom of God we are the problem. We are the ones with the logs in our own eyes. From that perspective we are more inclined to judge correctly.