🇬🇧 Reflection 21: As I was meditating on the first beatitude I got stuck on the phrase "the kingdom of heaven." I then realized Matthew had alr GGeady mentioned it twice before (Mat3:2 & Mat 4:17) but I hadn't payed attention to it. In fact I created a post for Matthew 3:1&2 but I only focused on the word "repent" and then I also posted Matthew 4:16 and simply jumped over (quickly read) the next verse wich now seems so important. So before sharing with you about each beatitude (supreme blessedness),I'll paste here some things I read about "the kingdom of heaven". Just in case, let me quickly mention first, that since the jews avoid saying or even writing the name of God (including the word God), the gospel of Matthew almost always mentions the kingdom of heaven instead of the kingdom of God (which is the same). "For many years, it seemed to me that the Old Testament and the New Testament were two different stories until I got some understanding about the Kingdom of God. The Bible, from Genesis to Revelation is really just a story about a kingdom lost and a kingdom re-gained! The message of Jesus was and is, “I’ve got good news for you! What Adam lost is now regained! The Kingdom of God is at hand!’ " - Harold Miller "When we hear the word “kingdom,” we tend to think of a place over which a king rules. But, in Aramaic, the primary language of Jesus, the word malku pointed not so much to the place of royal rule as to that rule itself. Where we read “kingdom” in Mark, we might substitute “rule” or “reign” or “sovereign authority.” This means when Jesus said, “The malku of God has come near,” he was pointing to the coming of God’s authority and power.  "The Kingdom of God is present or realized whenever and wherever God’s will is being done on earth in the same manner that it is done in Heaven.  So ‘to enter the kingdom of God’ does not refer to ‘going to heaven’ but should be understood as ‘accepting God’s rule’." "Through Christ, you and I can live today under the reign of God. When we seek God’s agenda for our lives, when we work for his purposes and glory, when we bow before him in worship and offer our daily work, we are experiencing the kingdom of God."