Nelson Mandela spent twenty-seven years of his life in prison for the crime of promoting a color-blind nation. It was a sentence that ripped him from his family, career, and community, and confined him behind concrete walls on a guarded island.

He passed his last eighteen years imprisoned on Robben Island, just off the coast of Cape Town, South Africa. While others might have been broken by such a sentence, Mandela was no ordinary man. Hope sustained him as he transformed his prison cell into a school room and a corner of the prison yard into a garden. It was his way of taking the little desert he’d been given and turning it into a bit of Eden. Day after day he tended his garden, faithfully watering, pruning, weeding, and cultivating until he possessed a little chunk of paradise right there in the midst of a penal wasteland. And God Himself surely watched him and decided He could use a man like that.

This is our call. We’ve each been entrusted with a personal little fiefdom that consists of our relationships, gifts, talents, possessions, vocation and time. For some it is a humble place, rocky and poor while others have been entrusted with riches and influence. Regardless, we each have the opportunity to work our little plot and develop it into a garden of beauty, order and abundance. This is what disciples of Jesus do.

And this is how great kingdoms are born: when the “underlords” of smaller lands and fiefdoms band together and pledge their allegiance to a sovereign, then all those little territories are knitted together into a great kingdom. God’s kingdom is no different. Even if our little world feels limited and poor, we can each work the ground we’ve been given, and bring our works to the Lord. And as we do, bit by bit the earth begins to shine with God’s glory. Are you faithfully tending your garden today?

Last week we were treated to the president’s State of the Union Address before live television and a joint session of Congress.  Donald Trump brought us up to speed on the progress we’ve made in areas of economy, employment, defense, border security, and foreign relations.  And he reminded us of the work that still needs to be done, calling all Americans to unite for the common good of the nation.

I wonder if maybe we could use a “State of the Creation Address.”  Of course Jesus – our Servant King – would be the one to deliver this important speech.  He might tell us about the progress we’ve made in feeding the poor and lifting them out of their poverty (1), of the innovation and creativity of the human race, of the progress we have made in healthcare and medical research, and of the growing peace and stability among the nations. (2)  Yes!  All these things are true!  He might mention that life expectancy and freedom are on the rise across the world, and that faithful missionaries are pushing deeper and deeper into the most unreached places on our planet, translating scriptures and planting churches of happily redeemed people. 

But then he would certainly remind us that much is yet to be done: that vast populations struggle under oppressive belief systems, that human trafficking still flourishes and millions of unborn babies are being murdered every year in their mother’s wombs while divorce, greed and crime deface his beloved people.  He might lament our political hostilities, or the plague of ignorance that stubbornly holds many in bondage.  And I’m pretty sure He would remind us that we truly are our brother’s keeper and that there are dozens of broken people within walking distance who still haven’t heard the good news of His glorious reign!  

In the end, I feel sure our compassionate King would remind us that He still loves his world, and has delightful plans for it’s redemption.  “For as truly as I live”, (He might say), “my glory WILL fill the earth as the waters cover the sea.  So let us redouble our efforts to see the work finished.  With prayer and faithfulness we CAN do this together because I am with you even to the end of the age.”

“Then the King will say to those on His right, ‘Come, you who are blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.”    (Matthew 25:34).

Author Bob Goff points out in his wonderful book, Everybody Always, that the second floor windows at Disney World are dedicated to the people who helped make the Magic Kingdom a reality: the architects, builders, artists, and accountants who’s dedicated work moved the dream from Disney’s  imagination to a real, geographical place.

Several Bible passages suggest that our rewards in the Kingdom are very much like these windows, except that a Kingdom inheritance  is way better  than a cool-looking window.

Hopefully we don’t need to be reminded that our rewards and inheritance must never, ever be linked to our salvation. Adoption into God’s family is initiated and sustained entirely by grace.  But once we’ve been received into the Kingdom, the One who is “making all things new” has plenty of work for us to do.  And he promises rewards for those who are faithful.*  Scripture doesn’t spell out exactly what our inheritance will look like, but certainly it’ll be sweeter than a  window at The Magic Kingdom.

Bob suggests there might be some value in imagining what our Kingdom “window” might say: “Lover of outcasts, and healer of bodies”, “Teacher of children, and a vessel of cheer”, “Builder of homes and leader of men”,  or “Fixer of cars and example of love”.  The happy souls in Matthew 25 seemed to have been surprised about their own rewards: “‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you? Or thirsty and give you something to drink? Or a stranger and show you hospitality?’… And the King will say, ‘I tell you the truth, when you did it to one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you were doing it to me!’’”

However it plays out, we can be certain that God has plenty of work for us to do, and that everything we do matters: “Therefore, my dear friends, stand your ground, and don’t hold back. Throw yourselves into the work of the Master, confident that nothing you do for him is a waste of time or effort.” (1 Corinthians 15:58)

*1 Corinthians 3:1-13 & Matthew 25:21.

In 1964 Mom and Dad packed up our Ford station wagon and drove us across country to Disneyland, the epic fulfillment of my eleven-year-old dreams. The magic kingdom with it’s pirate ships, jungle cruise, talking animals and Matterhorn was no disappointment. It set my imagination on fire.

Two weeks later when we returned home, bone-tired of travel, I set out to build a architectural replica of Disneyland, complete with waterways, rides, avenues and, of course, the Fairytale castle. (Especially the castle). I gathered an old model train platform, paper mâché, clay, lights and pumps and spent the remaining weeks of Summer building and wiring until I ran out of capital and returned to school where my young imagination was powered down and my psyche was crushed into adolescence.

I share this childhood memory to point out something deeply human that was happening in my young heart: I was dreaming of a perfect world, and of helping to make that world a reality. The success of Disneyland testifies to a universal vision we all share. “Uncle Walt” intuitively knew that if he built his fantasy kingdom, the masses would come year after year to experience “the happiest place on earth”, where beauty surrounds like oxygen and adventure beckons from every direction. It’s doubtful he realized the origin of his concept, or that His success was built on a dream God placed in our human soul. Yet with all it’s delight, Disneyland will never rise above a hazy, commercialized reflection of the true Kingdom; for there is no King within the castle’s fiberglass facade, and it’s magic begins to dry-up like grass clippings before we’ve exited the parking lot.

But every time we pray the Lord’s prayer are we not calling on God to build the real thing right here on earth? “Let your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven!” “For as surely as I live, (says the Lord), all the earth will be filled with the glory of the Lord… the wolf will lie down with the lamb… a little child will lead them… and they will beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks… Nation will not lift up sword against nation, and never again will they learn war…”* Just as Disney built his magic Kingdom on worthless, Florida swamp land, God will build His on the tired, bloodstained soil of this earth. Piece by piece and person by person He is quietly at work, inviting each of us into His eternal vision. Today I understand that my eleven year old imagination was never far from home!

* Matthew 6:10; Isaiah 2:4; Isaiah 11:6; and Numbers 14:21