Do you expect to go to heaven? What do you expect to find when you get there? Gold and precious stones? You don’t get to visit in advance like a real estate open house, and the Bible gives a limited amount of details, but gold and precious stones are mentioned. These are highly prized and sought after on earth. Is the desire for these things the motivation to seek the Kingdom of God? Would you expect to find anything else there that is even more valuable? In that day you will see me as I am, and know as you are known.

Do you have a favorite sport? Football? Soccer? Baseball? Basketball? I do. Mine is wrestling. You may recall that I wrestled with Jacob. Job wrestled with me as well, even though that term was not used, that was the activity taking place. You can extend this concept to see the same action in principle with Peter, and Paul, and John the Baptist, and others. Can you see that struggling with me is more common than not in those who press onward toward the mark of the high calling I offer them? Have you ever wrestled with me and found it to be a beneficial experience?

Have you noticed how much I had to say about the Kingdom of God? I came declaring the Kingdom, and most of my teaching was on this subject. Do you think of the Kingdom as future and far away, referring to heaven as your destination when you die? But I declared the Kingdom as a present reality, here and now. I cautioned that when you were told that the Kingdom was in a particular location you didn’t need to travel to take part, for I said that the Kingdom of God was within you. But when my accusers called me a king I said that my Kingdom is not of this world.

Are you a trusting person? Have you ever been cheated? The obvious risk of being too trusting is that you will be taken advantage of. Is it possible that you are not trusting enough? The risk here is less obvious. Are you aware of the missed opportunities for connection and for growth and beneficial interaction because you were suspicious? This is a great and real cost that you will pay whether you are aware of it or not. So is the risk of being cheated greater than the risk of rejected opportunities of connection?