What do we mean by the kingdom of God? Too often, in my judgement, we relegate it to some time in the distant future, seeing it as an other-worldly paradise that God will one day bring about in the fullness of time, but one far removed from our present existence or experience. That may all be true to a point, but the teaching of Jesus includes a very different perspective: the kingdom, he tells us, has begun here and now, and if you want to glimpse it, then look within. As the following session from my book Daily Prayer explores, faith is not just about the future but about the present; our hope not confined to heaven but equally to be worked out here on earth.
The kingdom within
Read
Asked by the Pharisees concerning the coming of the kingdom of God, he replied: ‘The signs of God’s kingdom cannot be observed, nor will anyone say, “Look here!” or “Look there!” – for the kingdom of God is within you.’ Luke 17:20-21
Ponder
I remember as a child reading the tale of a little boy (thankfully fictitious) with a tendency to daydream. Instead of looking where he was going, this unfortunate lad was forever gazing absent-mindedly into space, his thoughts elsewhere, the result being a series of ever-greater catastrophes. There is danger that we as Christians can make a mistake not unlike that; namely of being too heavenly-minded to be of any earthly use. We’ve all met Christians who seem so pious that they come across as divorced from the real world, and we’ve probably all heard sermons that cry out for some down-to-earth application that can focus the point being made in terms of daily experience rather than remain suspended in the rarefied atmosphere of spiritual niceties. Unless faith is about everyday life and able to make a difference there, then it isn’t much use to anyone.
That, to me at least, is the point Jesus was making to the Pharisees when they questioned him about the kingdom of God. Yes, its fulfilment is in the future, at some date that we cannot and do not need to know, but it is also here and now, having begun the moment Jesus entered the world in the stable of Bethlehem. The implications of that truth are immense. We cannot wash our hands of this world in the hope of another kingdom to come; neither can we sit back and leave everything to God. We all have a role in his purpose, a part to play in helping to bring it to fulfilment. Unless we have a sense of his kingdom already within us, and unless we do what we can to bring that kingdom closer, then we may look forward to its final establishment in vain, for we will not recognise it when it comes.
Ask yourself
Do you see the kingdom of God as something that will come in the distant future or as already having begun here on earth? What are you doing to help make that kingdom more real?
Pray
Loving God, there are some things in life I look so hard for that I cannot see them even when they are right under my very nose. Your kingdom is like that. I look forward to the time when Christ shall return and I repeat the words of the prayer he taught us, ‘Your kingdom come’, but I forget that he also proclaimed your kingdom is already here. Loving God, teach me what that means. Help me to understand that though the kingdom has been initiated through him, it must continue through me and those like me – through the service I offer and the life I live in his name. Save me from being so concerned with what will be that I lose touch with what is, for his name’s sake. Amen.
Remember
He said to them, ‘When you pray, use words like these: “Our Father in heaven, to you be praise and honour. May your kingdom come and your will be done, here on earth as it is in heaven.”’ Matthew 6:9-10
Close
Lord Jesus Christ, instead of looking for your kingdom, may I help to build it, through your grace. Amen.