Here and Now

For too many Christians, the Kingdom of God is a “then and there” proposition. It will become real and meaningful once we’re finally with the Lord in heaven. While that’s true, it doesn’t negate the fact that the Kingdom of God is coming on earth as it is in heaven right now, today. Today’s reading from The Kingdom Turn is found on page 65:

“The Apostle Paul teaches that all who have come to faith in Jesus Christ have been delivered from the domain of darkness and sin and transferred into the Kingdom of God’s beloved Son. Jesus describes this as being ‘born again.’ The believer has been awakened from the sleep of death, which characterizes all who continue in their trespasses and sins, and inhabits now a realm of light. In the light of Jesus’ grace and truth believers are free from condemnation, liberated to know the truth, and firmly positioned to engage and express the glory of the living God.“Now, for the believer, all things have become new. Old ways of thinking, feeling, and living begin to be set aside, and the ways of those who walk in the light as Jesus is in the light come increasingly to characterize the lives of all who truly believe. Everything has changed, and everything is changing as the follower of Jesus Christ grows to know more of the experience of living in the Kingdom of Jesus.

“Jesus promised those listening to Him that they would see the Kingdom of God in just a short time. With their eyes they would be able to observe the evidence of something altogether new, a power breaking in from beyond this material world to renew, regenerate, revive, re-awaken, reform, and restore human lives, and to bring into being a community and a movement that would turn the world upside down for Jesus Christ. As we read the book of Acts and peruse the apostolic letters in the New Testament, it’s not difficult to see the evidence that what Jesus promised certainly came to pass. The Kingdom of God came, beginning in the ancient city of Jerusalem, and spreading out from there to affect the whole world.”

For reflection or discussion
1. What kind of “evidence” would indicate the presence of the Kingdom in your community?

2. What is your role and responsibility for helping to bring that evidence to light?

The Kingdom of God comes to expression here and now in ways that reflect the beauty, goodness, truth, righteousness, peace, and joy that abound in heaven. This is what we pray for, and it’s what we are called to seek. Share today’s podcast with a friend, then get together to discuss it. You can order a copy of The Kingdom Turn from The Ailbe Bookstore.

T. M. Moore