One of the things that Jesus talked a lot about was the Kingdom of God. What kind of Kingdom was he talking about when he said that the Kingdom of God was at hand, very near? Many people interpreted that to mean the end of the world. In fact, we still tend to think the same thing today.To the people living during the time of Roman occupation, it sounded like Jesus meant he would overthrow the government and establish a new world of peace. Not only that, but Jesus was a miracle worker. They could not only have a king with a different kind of kingdom, but one that was a healer as well. It would be a kingdom with no sickness or death.
As Jesus continued to speak of the Kingdom of God and that, in reality he was referring to a spiritual kingdom, not a material kingdom, many who were following him turned away. Jesus taught that the Kingdom of God was having God personally live in you and establish the kingdom of peace within your heart.
This was not what most people were hoping for. They were looking for deliverance from their trials and problems. We are not much different today. Christianity has turned a little materialistic. Too often, we think of the Kingdom of God as something that is only possible after the second coming. We think in terms of mansions in Heaven and golden crowns with stars—better yet, the streets paved with gold in the New Jerusalem!
Worse than that is the tendency to care little about our earth or the people in it. If the Kingdom of God is something that only happens later, then it is easy to slip into the mindset of always longing for a future time when things will be better—for a new Heaven and a new earth—and blissfully ignoring the concerns of the present.
What Jesus actually taught about the imminence of the Kingdom was the fact that God can live in your heart today. All of the things that we long for—world peace, enough for everyone, equality, and prosperity are all things that will happen when our hearts change and open in love to others. In order for them to change, we have to have the Christ power living in our hearts. Then we will live the type of life that he lived. As we change, the world changes.
The change in focus from the future to the present is a powerful shift. When we realize that the power and beauty of Christ’s life is available to us now, that we can start to taste Heaven on earth now, then we have begun to understand the words of “the Kingdom of God is at hand”. Yes, it is near—even at the door. The door is your heart.
To shift your perspective is something that will bring your spiritual life alive. If you are to have the Christ power in your heart now and not wait until “eternity”, then spiritual practice and seeking God will become a priority in your life. Your ministry in helping to change our world is huge. We have much to do to continue the work of Jesus’ personal ministry.
He said that we would do even greater works than he did? Can you imagine it? Not if our Christianity doesn’t extend past the saving of our own soul. I doubt that we would be compelled to do too much if that is all we are worried about. This might be a clue as to why were still in such bad shape down here—even 2,000 years after the coming of the Kingdom of God.
The time has come for us to realize the meaning behind the Kingdom of God. The only thing preventing it from transforming our world is for us to realize that it begins in our own heart. God establishes the Kingdom one person at a time.
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