THE KINGDOM OF GOD

Now having been questioned by the Pharisees as to when the Kingdom of God was coming, He answered them and said, “The Kingdom of God is not coming with signs to be observed; nor will they say, ‘Look, here it is!’ or, ‘There it is!’ For behold, the Kingdom of God is in your midst.” Luke 17:20-21 NASB

Do you think God is far off? Seriously, honestly, do you?

How many of us hear the words “God is near”, yet in the back of our minds (or in the very front), we remind ourselves that really, God is way out there beyond Outer Space even? Or we think very subtly when we pray that God can barely hear us, because He’s up in heaven somewhere, while we are way, way, way down here?

Yet when Jesus was asked, by religious leaders no less, when the Kingdom of God was coming, He didn’t answer them with a time. Instead, He answered them with a place. He went so far as to tell them that people wouldn’t be looking into the sky, and claiming “Here it comes!! I can see it! It’s the Kingdom!! It has to be!”

“BEHOLD! THE KINGDOM OF GOD IS IN YOUR MIDST!”

This is how the punctuation marks should look in our Bibles. And there should be a picture, one of Jesus with His arms outstretched, one arm to the sky, the other pointing and waving all around Him, as He shows exactly where the Kingdom of God really is. It’s in our midst. A thesaurus would show us that “midst” can easily be represented by words such as “middle” or “center”. And if we pay attention to the context, we can also see that Jesus isn’t talking to one Pharisee, but to the “Pharisees”, meaning more than one, and possibly, far more than one. In other words, even amongst the Pharisees, God’s kingdom is in their center, it’s right smack dab in the middle of where they are, in their “midst”.

Here is an interesting question. If God’ kingdom is in our midst, where is God?

Don’t answer that. The possibilities are frightening. They are wildly exciting. They are the stuff of dreams coming true, of hopes being realized, and of miracles being witnessed. Whatever you do, don’t follow the logical conclusion, or you just might find yourself right in the middle of where God is at this moment, right now. And then what would you do?

If the answer to that question is true, and how can it not be, what does the rest of our life look like right now? If the Kingdom is here, in the air, by the tree, around the corner, and yet right at your very feet, what good can that possibly bring? How could it benefit us to know that God is not beyond outer space, but right here?!

What would our prayers sound like if we actually believed that God heard every one of them? What would our love look like if we knew, I mean REALLY KNEW, that God’s love was partner with ours wherever we went?

We’ve perhaps heard that the Holy Spirit lives inside of us, but I think sometimes that fact is a bit too vague. However, place God right in your hand, in the air that you breathe, so that physically, every time you move, you touch Him, and what does that do what you used to know about God? How does it change everything?

I say, if you knew how close God really was, you’d think differently, you’d pray differently, and you’d act differently, not out of compulsion or fear, but because of amazement and hope. If as children, we constantly sought the attention, the company, and approval of our parents, how much more so now will we live in the reality of the kingdom of God if we know He is RIGHT HERE, RIGHT NOW? Our Father who art in Heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy KINGDOM come, right here, right now, thy will be done, on earth (Your Kingdom) as it is in heaven." Do you know just how useless that prayer is if God's kingdom isn't right here, right now, with Him right in the middle of it?

How will it affect us if we believe we don’t have to wait until we die to be a physical member of God’s kingdom?

We can talk about “conviction”, guilt, duty, and all of those other mystical, sometimes meaningless words. Or, we can believe Jesus completely, and KNOW that physically, right now, the kingdom of God, and thus God, is in our midst.

How would KNOWING this free us and empower us? Why did Jesus give so many parables about the Kingdom of God? Why so many comaparisons? Was it not a major, central theme of His ministry here? Of course it was. And since it was, we no longer have to wait until we die to see God. He's here, right now, and you touch Him every time you move, and you taste Him every time you breathe. That's how close God is.