The Kingdom In Our Midst

Last evening I was reflecting on some verses and reading out of Luke, Chapter 17.  This Chapter has plenty to reflect on, but the two verses that caught my eye were the following - Luke 17:20-21 NIV:

[20] “Once, on being asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, Jesus replied, “The coming of the kingdom of God is not something that can be observed, [21] nor will people say, ‘Here it is,’ or ‘There it is,’ because the kingdom of God is in your midst.”

I have reflected on these verses, or the parallel verses in other so the Gospels, several times, and it always amazes me that the Lord, in His wisdom, chooses to effectively hide His Kingdom inside of people!  There are no geographical boundaries to His Kingdom, no wall or border that separates His domain from others.  Jesus rightly prophesied that people could not see it, or observe it… for it is hidden in the hearts of His sons and daughters.  

There are clearly lands and nations that are affected by His Dominion, some walking in closer alignment with His Character and Revelation than others, but His not the recognized leader in any of them.  Instead, He is King over a Kingdom that spans the globe, and is present in almost every nation, tribe and tongue.  

I love the description of people of the Kingdom from an early church writing titled - Epistle to Diognetus 5:1-6, 9-10

[1] "For Christians are not distinguished from the rest of humanity by country, language, or customs. [2] For nowhere do they live in cities of their own, nor do they speak some unusual dialect, nor do they practice an eccentric lifestyle. [3] This teaching of theirs has not been discovered by the  thought and reflection of ingenious men, nor do they promote any human doctrine, as some do. [4] But while they live in both Greek and barbarian cities, as each one's lot was cast, and follow the local customs in dress and food and other aspects of life, at the same time they demonstrate the remarkable and admittedly unusual character of their own citizenship. [5] They live in their own countries, but only as aliens, they participate in everything as citizens, and endure everything as foreigners. Every foreign country is their fatherland, and every fatherland is foreign....[9]They live on the earth, but their citizenship is in heaven. [10] They obey the established laws; indeed in their private lives they transcend the laws."

I think one of the things that is most vexing about the Kingdom of God, for casual observers, doubters, and even sometimes people of His Kingdom, is its hiddenness when viewed externally.  We are, by and large, people who want to see and know, and have it all make sense.  God, however, is beyond our grasp of understanding, His thoughts Higher than ours (Is. 55:8-9), His ways unexplainable.  

We think that if God was real He would come to earth and clean up all the evil, wiping it from the face of the earth with awesome power, making every wrong right, healing all the disease and sickness, and reigning victoriously from His capitol city!  Our stories of other gods, even of comic book characters, almost always take this approach, and this is where God’s plan and purpose just make no earthly sense (at least to me).

Instead, He has chosen to visit the earth, to become fully man, and rather than reigning in power, He has humbly laid down His life, in payment for debt that we could not pay.  His Kingdom was established in the hearts of 120 followers, almost none of whom had political power, popular favor, or significance!  His Kingdom and His church were persecuted from the very start, and rather than collapsing, it exploded like wild-fire, capturing the hearts of millions, and spreading from city to city, nation to nation.  In the History of the world (that I know of) there is nothing like God’s Kingdom.  It has withstood the rigors of war, deprivation, outright attacks, efforts to destroy it at every turn, and yet it continues to expand and grow, capturing the hearts of billions of individuals!   

The Kingdom of God, and His reign are in our midst, even if we can’t see it with casual observation.  Members of His Kingdom, are our neighbors, co-workers, friends, and family.  My prayer is that His Kingdom would continue its aggressive growth and expansion, and that His Kingship would continue to bring health, healing, mercy, compassion and love to the world around us!

Amen!