He Said

By Sloan Milliken

One of the unfortunate things about Christianity is that the Church can easily adopt mindsets and traditions that make it something that God never intended. With that in mind, I want to share a little poem I wrote. It’s called, “He Said, We Said.”

Jesus said, “Repent, for the kingdom is here.”
But we said, “We think your message is a little unclear.”
Jesus said, “The kingdom of heaven is within.”
But we said, “But, God, you don’t know our sin.” Jesus said, “My kingdom will advance throughout the earth.”
But we said, “We can’t keep the world out of the church!”
Jesus said, “The kingdom looks like casting out demons and healing the lame.”
But we said, “But are those things even for today?”
Jesus said, “Giving you the kingdom is the delight of the Most High.”
But we said, “That’s great, Jesus, but why does it seem to just stay in the sky?”

I want to challenge us to seek the Lord with open, humble hearts so that we can fully reclaim what Jesus called “the gospel of the kingdom” (Matthew 24:14). It’s not a small matter. The Church’s joy, the salvation of the nations, and the return of the King depend on it. Becoming like Jesus is about more than going to church, reading our Bibles, and doing Christian things. We need to understand the kingdom like he did—not just on an intellectual level, but to the point where we are totally consumed by the good news and live
ablaze with Holy Spirit.

You may think I’m being overdramatic, but the call to repentance and experiencing the kingdom go hand-in-hand. After all, that’s how Jesus announced it. He calls us not just to pray a prayer to get to heaven, but to change the way we think and act so we can see, live, and breathe the kingdom while we walk this earth.

It is God’s goodness that brings us to repentance, and the good news is, the kingdom is good news. I pray that you will be so encouraged by this issue that you will never be the same. May God use these pages to plant a seed inside your heart that grows until our poem reads something like this:

Jesus said, “Repent, for the kingdom is here.”
We said, “We will seek it all of our years.”
Jesus said, “The kingdom of heaven is within.”
We said, “Righteousness, peace, and joy suffocate our sin!”
Jesus said, “My kingdom will advance throughout the earth.”
We said, “Yes, Lord, entire nations are seeing Your worth.”
Jesus said, “The kingdom looks like casting out demons and healing the lame.”
We said, “When we pray, everything bows to Jesus’ name.”
Jesus said, “Giving you the kingdom is the delight of the Most High.”
We said, “He is our joy, and with his will we do comply.”

Many Blessings,
Sloan Milliken