That kind of person

The reign of God is something many people talk about and wonder about. Jesus says the kingdom of God is among you, is present, is now, and not just something in the by and by. I think that means we are to participate. His sermon on the mount gives a good picture of the upside down values of the kingdom. Counter to the ways of the world and full of paradoxes and curiosities. Still we may wonder how that plays out in our personal life.

I enjoy Richard Rohr's Daily Meditations which come to my inbox each day. They contain a snippet from his writings, which lately are adapted from Jesus' Plan for a New World. I really liked what Rohr says in this quote:

I hope you’ve met at least one Kingdom person in your life. They are surrendered and trustful people. You sense that their life is okay at the core. They have given control to Another and are at peace, which paradoxically allows them to calmly be in control. A Kingdom person lives for what matters, for life in its deepest and lasting sense. There’s a kind of gentle absolutism about their life-style, an inner freedom. Kingdom people feel like grounded yet spacious people at the same time, the best of conservative and the best of progressive at the same time.

Kingdom people are anchored by their awareness of God’s love deep within them and deep within everyone else too. They happily live on a level playing field, where even God has come to “pitch his tent” (the literal translation of John 1:14).

If we are living the Kingdom now. If we are kingdom people, then this sense that "life is okay at the core" seems like a good description. I want to be this kind of person. In those moments, days, or seasons when I'm not, I need to examine where I lost the inner freedom and grounding. I pray I can pay attention and make the necessary shifts.

This week I am visiting family and there is always the pull to go back to old ways of relating. I have had this phrase in my mind, and I'm recalling it and trying to practice it: "Be generous. Give what you can." To me it's a way to be a kingdom person today in this moment.