FORWARD FELEX

Both parables talk about selling all one has to obtain something of the great value. The main point is at how one can be fit to enter the kingdom of heaven. One cannot enter the kingdom of heaven when one has worries or riches of the earth. It teaches us to share what we have with the needy and give extra attention to the Word of God.

The passage teaches that at the coming of Jesus, some will be taken to eternity and others will be left to face judgement. The dead will resurrect and will be the first to face Jesus and the judgement. We who will still be live will be changed (transfigured). We shall catch up with those who will already be taken in the clouds. How I long to see this day! This teaches us to keep bearing fruits in spreading the Word of God and repentance. We should keep on doing what pleases God and get ready for the coming of Jesus. What pleases God, to me, I believe is giving testimony and living at peace with neighbours among others.

This lesson shows to me that the coming of Jesus will be sudden. It explains that His coming will take a short time, as lightning takes a short time. Something to indicate it is that for the two, one will be taken and the other be left. The implication of this to us is that we should not worry abvout our property or our belongings. If it's time, we should not look back or think of our families. We should not worry about our lives at that time. For, it shows that whoever tries to preserve his life shall lose it but whoever loses his life shall have it restored to him. Lot's wife is a good example.

Lightning flashes with great light intensity. Because it happens high in the sky, it is seen in a large area. The sense that Jesus will come like lightning flashing in the sky tells us that jesus will not be revealed to one person or one group at His coming. He will be seen by the whole universe. The heaven and all the earth will see Him. However, there is something that worries me about His coming: lightning is there for a short time. Will Jesus be there for a short time? How about those who will be inside the buildings? Won't they see Him?

To me, Jesus was trying to make the scribes, the pharisees, aware of His presence. The pharisees were doubting whether Jesus was Lord. Jesus wanted to let them know that truly He is God; the sense that the kingdom is "among you". Today, we testify the kingdom in many ways. Through miracles, through victory, through rewards and everything that gives us courage, we acknowledge that God is present. The kingdom is our spirit. When we choose to do good, we are guided by the Spirit of God. That's how the kingdom is present among us today.

If we continue asking, seeking and knocking, we show our committment to God. God eventually hears our prayers and prepares us worthy of forgiveness. This enables us to share in the kingdom of heaven that Jesus our Lord prepared for us when He died for us on the cross and ascended to heaven. We in most cases give up so easily because it takes time to receive what we request for. We need to have faith, for faith is the assurance of Godly things we hope for and the conviction of the reality, though not yet seen. It took Abraham a long time to receive what God had promised him. We gain boldness after understanding the importance of being confident. Looking at circumstances and how God helped/helps His people, we also find it important to stay bold in doing God's will through bearing fruit and repentance.

According to me, Jesus was teaching us to put our cause to God. That's why we also learn the lesson of giving tithes. He wanted us to put God first not pleasures or money. Jesus stressed it that riches which we should seek for should be from God, with God's help. Wealth is just added to us if we seek God first. It's both hyperbole - in the fact that seeking for wealth can move one from the line of God - and, dangerous since wealth cannot save someone at the end. To me, what serves God is the heart ( spirit). Wealthy people can still serve God. The man who requested to bury the body of Jesus, Joseph of Almathea, was wealthy. However, one should not be extra committed to their wealth and keep God aside. Job did not keep committment for his wealth. He counted God, who had given all to him, to be able. He didn't fight to gain his body even when he was wounded. This tells that he did not count himself as wealthy. He remained firm with God even when the devil tempted him.

Jesus wanted us to bear fruit in spreading the word of the kingdom to others. He wanted us to be good soils and bear fruits: 30-fold, 60-fold and even 100-fold. He also wanted us to be aware of those who are not ready to receive the word and even those who receive the word but reject it when tribulations arise. These truths help us to remain faithful in working according to the will of God.

There are many factors which can make a disciple a good soil for the growing of the word of the kingdom: When one is ordained by God, they pick up the call and become good soil for the growing of the message. God makes everything work; nevertheless, there are other factors like; a person's attitude over others or place; understanding capacity of a person as regards the word of God, submission of a person to serving God fully, bearing witness of Christ as the savior among others. The reason for 30-fold, 60-fold and 100-fold growth is that some seeds, though they are cast in a fertile soil, don't find all nutrients that are necessary for them to grow. The idea is that they still put on fruits since fertility of the soil which is one of the major requirements for plants to grow well is there. When we focus on believers, we shall find those who receive the message but to some extent, tend to rebel. Since they are a fertile soil and have been ordained by God, they must produce some 30-fold, others 60-fold.

To me, pleasures is most dangerous because by counting everything to ourselves, to me, we declare ourselves as equal to God or as gods. Moses died in the wilderness because he did not do as ordered by God. He liked pleasures and counted as if he gave water to people. Riches, to me, take the second degree of comparison, as we move from the worst to bad. Riches are accompaned by deceit all of which are evil. Worries then take the first degree. Worries make us think as if God is not there. This shouldn't happen as God is always there for us and awaits our subission. To me, when I see the degree of comparison of the adjective, worries are dangerous; riches more dangerous and pleasures, most dangerous.

Some people fall away from testifying the word of God when the time of trouble comes. They are normally driven by cosmic things. They face challenges which cannot allow them to think about God as the solution even though they received God's word. When one receives or accepts Jesus to control them, they open themselves to satan's temptations. Jesus Himself faced temptations in the wilderness. This tells that; when one passes the temptation, one opens a way ahead in God's awareness. We need not to allow tribulations to take us away from the line of God. We need to make less committments to material wealth and property. This too doesnot allow the "seed" to grow in us. Many people who keep their treasure on eart have a big problem of keeping God's word. Satan keeps on snatching what they get from them because their treasure relates a lot to satan. That's my point of view.

When we sin, we let the devil dwell in us. This means that whose command we obey becomes our master or king.We therefore become slaves to sin. When Adam and Eve sinned, they obeyed the command of satan. God's command was that they should not eat of the fruit lest they die. Satan's command was that they should eat of the fruit lest they have knowledge of good and bad. They obeyed satan's command and disobeyed God's. Therefore, sin is satan's command and whoever obeys satan's command is a sinner. We are sinners though we obeyed/obey satan's command with/without our consent. Repentance is central to God because it's what breaks our bondage to slavery of satan's realm and take us to God. We need to belong to God's realm where thereis light, love and joy. So, we need to repent. Through baptism, we are cleansed of our sin, which opens our way to the Kingdom of heaven, through repentance. Christ can't reign in unrepentant heart. When one declares oneself as under the control of satan, Christ can't control such a person. Instead, satan does because of the agreement that is established through refusing to repent and come back to God.

When people adopt Christian faith without repentance of the sins, they deliberately sin against God's will in which they keep of crucifying our Lord Jesus Christ. It happens mostly because they follow wrong paths knowing that they are following the paths to God's kingdom. Some people don't forgive their aggressors. instead, they claim that God sees them and knows how to deal with their enemies. Some times sin is perceived as a custom or something that happens naturally under God's consent. Some people claim that God who causes the brain to think accounts for sin. I believe that our choice are respected by God. To repent our sins therefore, we need to first understand all the offences that we made and then ask for forgiveness. It is the Spirit of God that reminds us of the sins we committed. It then reminds us to ask for forgiveness and make ourselves holy in God's presence. Many people avoid repentance because the devil doesn't want them to leave their sins. The devil who controls them doesn't like them to mention that they are sinners in presence of God. The devil likes it when people disobey God's Word. Some people feel ashamed of mentioning their sins. Today, a large percentage of people follow a certain denomination. All denominations claim to be teaching the gospel of the kingdom. However, according to rituals that are performed and the agreements made in some denominations, to me, a few are repentant. this is because they refuse to obey what is indicated in the Bible and accept to take as doctrine the words of people.(Mark7:7)