Desiring the kingdom
In our society we do in fact have a great deal of freedom to religion. Sure, there are many cases of persecution, but for the most part in America Christians are accepted. Now, while this freedom and acceptance is generally good, it can cause our desire for the kingdom to be lessened. Plantinga points out that the Israelites in the slavery wanted Christ's kingdom to come with all of their heart. In the time of slavery in America, the people who most longed for the kingdom of God were those who were enslaved.
We have easy lives; I have an easy life. I am a college student who often worries about what the future holds, but I never need to worry about whether I will be able to eat. I am not enslaved, I am not persecuted, I have faced no great challenges to my faith. I have a place to live, and there are people who love me. While I am thankful for all these things, sometimes I wonder if my faith would be stronger if my life were not so easy. In difficult times, we desire the kingdom even more. When we have nothing else, we value our faith and desire God's coming more than anything. In the difficult times we can truly see the need for God's salvation, in ways we cannot when times are good.
What we can do, then, is to work towards God's kingdom and think of it often. When we are not satisfied with the way things are, when we think of what life could be we want to work towards God's kingdom even more. In working for the kingdom, no matter what occupation we hold, we can get glimpses of the kind of life God intended for us, and we move toward it.
Like we discussed in class, it is not so much what we do but how we do it. Nearly any profession can be done to the glory of God, if done in the right spirit. I know for myself I find myself thinking so much more of what I will do, rather than how I will do it. At the end of the day, trusting that God will bring me where I need to go is what I strive for in my thoughts of the future.
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