Comments on a comment

The commentator Jedi said: "What if you view you home - your life - as manifestations of the the Kingdom of God in the world? Could the reward in relationship simply be the joy of seeing someone touched by the Kingdom."


Yes


My home, just as much as the church is a manifestation of the City of God in the world. It is in my home that true relationship occurs. Relationship begins outside the home--at church, at work, at the park--but it is brought to fulfillment in my home and in the homes of my friends. This is where the bonds of relationship are forged. When I invite a friend into my home I expose myself, and open myself to relationship. When I spend time with someone around my dinner table, or working in the yard, The connections we have are magnified. This is where God's work in relationship is accomplished.

When this friend is outside of the City, the part of the reward in bringing them into my home is seeing them encounter the reality of the Kingom of God that is present here. But and important caveat must be made. The joy I feel in seeing a friend encounter the City, even for a short time, is not an abstract joy. It is concrete, rooted in the fact that this is my friend, that we enjoy each other.

Thus the reward is not "simply the joy of seeing someone touched by the Kingdom;" it is "simply the joy of seeing the one that I love touched by the Kingdom."