Heart Surgery

Seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.

–Matthew 6:33

Do you want to be part of the kingdom of God? In a way, that’s a silly question. Why in the world would anyone not want to be a part of the kingdom of God? After all, consider the alternative: Would you want to live outside the kingdom of God, where the Bible says there is going to be “weeping and gnashing of teeth” (Luke 13:28)? Yet the fact is, whenever we refuse to submit our will to God’s will, we’re living outside the kingdom of God.

Despite what we may believe, the kingdom of God is not just a synonym for heaven. Yes, heaven is the ultimate expression of God’s kingdom. In the new heaven and earth, God’s will is going to be done completely, and everyone in God’s kingdom will submit to His rule. Likewise, hell is the ultimate expression of living outside God’s kingdom and rebelling against His rule.

But the clear distinction between those in the kingdom of God and those outside the kingdom of God exists right now. Heaven and hell are just the natural extensions of choices we make in this life. People inside the kingdom of God have chosen to submit to God’s rule in their lives; people outside the kingdom of God have chosen not to submit to God’s rule.

Last week, I mentioned some of the benefits of kingdom living: freedom from worry, contentment with our finances, and inner peace. Some people mistakenly think, I want to enjoy those benefits, so I will start acting like I’m a citizen of God’s kingdom. Let’s say I decide that I like the British people so much I want to be a British citizen. So I start sipping tea every afternoon. I develop a British accent. I sing “God Save the King” every night before I go to bed. Does that make me a British citizen? No. Those are things a British citizen might do, but to be a true citizen, I have to change my citizenship.

In the same way, we don’t get into God’s kingdom by acting like a resident; we need a change of citizenship. In other words, we need a new heart. This week, we’re going to talk about the process by which our lives are spiritually transformed–that is, how our hearts become hearts that want to submit to God’s rule in every area of our lives.

Today’s devotion is adapted from “Heart Surgery” by Dr. Robert Jeffress, 2008.

Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. www.lockman.org.