He said to them, 'Is a lamp brought in to be put under the bushel basket, or under the bed, and not on the lampstand? For there is nothing hidden, except to be disclosed; nor is anything secret, except to come to light. Let anyone with ears to hear listen!' And he said to them, 'Pay attention to what you hear; the measure you give will be the measure you get, and still more will be given you. For to those who have, more will be given; and from those who have nothing, even what they have will be taken away.' He also said, 'The kingdom of God is as if someone would scatter seed on the ground, and would sleep and rise night and day, and the seed would sprout and grow, he does not know how. The earth produces of itself, first the stalk, then the head, then the full grain in the head. But when the grain is ripe, at once he goes in with his sickle, because the harvest has come.' He also said, 'With what can we compare the kingdom of God, or what parable will we use for it? It is like a mustard seed, which, when sown upon the ground, is the smallest of all the seeds on earth; yet when it is sown it grows up and becomes the greatest of all shrubs, and puts forth large branches, so that the birds of the air can make nests in its shade.' With many such parables he spoke the word to them, as they were able to hear it; he did not speak to them except in parables, but he explained everything in private to his disciples. Mark 4:21-34 NRSV.

I grew up not really hearing too much spoken about the kingdom of God. I have rather heard alot how need to have Jesus save us so that we don't go to hell. I have found that this approach is lacking. It sets up people to believer that salvation is only about 'fire insurance'. In reality is is becoming a part of God's kingdom on earth and in heaven.

And what does this kindgom mean? It is a belief and mindset that I am a part of a community of believers that are on the path towards sancification. This kindgom has different values in comparison to the world around us. Ex. from the beatitudes, we learn that having a kingdom mentality means seeking peace more than my own way, seeking mercy is more important that the letter of the law, being poor in spirit when the world around us emphasises matieral blessing, and being meek is a a blessed thing to Jesus while might makes right is NOT a virture. For some Christians this comes as a shock but it is true none the less. 

For the longest time I never understood the beatitudes. But then I realized in my study of them, that it was because people found them hard to follow so gave up on them. In reality, they are not hard if one is open to God's leading and enbaling. When we show God 's power through the beatitudes, we can be powerful lights shining for all the world to see how Christ's love has made a difference in us.