Across the Pastor’s Desk by Don Rose

 

Martin Luther taught that there are two kingdoms/dominions that seek the time, devotion and commitment of human beings. On the one hand there is the kingdom of this world which encompasses all of the things of every day life shared in community, law, government, family, vocation, etc.

On the other hand, there is the kingdom of God which is grounded in God’s love and forgiveness revealed for the whole of creation. Human beings of their own volition tend to head in one of two directions in relation to these kingdoms and their desires.

Some in whatever religion would try to put the two kingdoms together as one with their unique understanding and interpretation of God’s will as the source of all norms for living.

Note particularly the emphasis on their own unique interpretation. Whatever their particular religious sect, such persons believe that what they see as God’s law should be the final word in all matters of civic and social life.

This understanding easily leads to oppressive situations for those members of the populace who may not interpret God’s will in exactly the same way, perhaps believing that God is about the work of love and forgiveness as opposed to establishing new rules for civil conduct.

Others would see the total separation of these two kingdoms. This means that if one gives what one decides is appropriate time and allegiance to the kingdom of God, one is then free to set it aside to focus on the kingdom of this world without reference to the love and forgiveness of the kingdom of God.

This has been and continues to be perhaps the most popular of the two understandings of the relationship of these kingdoms in peoples’ lives. One can profess belief and yet live a life that disregards the teachings of that belief in every day experience and activity. This seems to be quite pandemic in these days as one is exposed to the news makers of the day.

A third way of looking at the challenge of the interaction of these two kingdoms as Luther taught was to see the intersection of the kingdom of this world and the kingdom of God in the lives of believers.

Imagine two distinct circles that slightly overlap one another. For Luther, that overlap represents the life of the believer who bring the teaching of God to bear upon the world. It calls people to a faith that is active not only on their day of worship but in each and every day.

Faith, then, is not simply a matter of words to be spoken, but rather a life to be lived that calls the kingdom of this world to think again about its approach and understanding of people and their value and importance. This is to say that all people are seen of value and importance because all people are children of God whether each one acknowledges that or not.

This third approach to the two kingdoms is more challenging than is the approach of the first two. As a result, it seems to be a rare commodity in the world of today. However, as rare as it is, it is the approach to be cultivated and nurtured by the whole of God’s people.

Don Rose is the pastor at Mansfield and  United Lutheran Churches.