Heaven on Earth

At Grace Church we have been talking about the characteristics of the Kingdom of Heaven, also referred to as the Kingdom of God, understanding that the Kingdom is not just in the afterlife but it is here and now; we see it everyday.  Jesus even told us to pray for it in the Lord's prayer, "Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven."  So how can we bring God's Kingdom to people everyday? I once heard a quote that said, "We can't say, Thy Kingdom come unless we're willing to say, My kingdom go".  Becoming part of the Kingdom of God is all about letting go of the control you have in your life and giving it over to God.  The first line of the beatitudes, as written in Luke 6, begins with "Blessed are the poor, for the kingdom of heaven is theirs". The greek word used for poor in this passage is ptochoi, referring to the bottom 10-20% of the peasant class.  Richard Rohr writes that the direct translation of this word is "the very empty ones, those who are crouching". So the kingdom of heaven belongs to those who have nothing left, to the people who let everything go, the very empty ones; it is for the people who do not hold on to things, but for those who are comfortable with being still and letting God fight for them.  Who is in control of our lives?