God's kingdom is already within you!

Luke 17:20-25

Jesus, grilled by the Pharisees on when the kingdom of God would come, answered, “The kingdom of God doesn’t come by counting the days on the calendar. Nor when someone says, ‘Look here!’ or, ‘There it is!’ And why? Because God’s kingdom is already among you.”

He went on to say to his disciples, “The days are coming when you are going to be desperately homesick for just a glimpse of one of the days of the Son of Man, and you won’t see a thing. And they’ll say to you, ‘Look over there!’ or, ‘Look here!’ Don’t fall for any of that nonsense. The arrival of the Son of Man is not something you go out to see. He simply comes.

“You know how the whole sky lights up from a single flash of lightning? That’s how it will be on the Day of the Son of Man. But first it’s necessary that he suffer many things and be turned down by the people of today.

Food for thought!

God's kingdom is already within you!

What did Jesus mean by this statement? It is difficult to interpret. If we compare it to what is said in Deuteronomy 30:11-14 "Surely, this commandment that I am commanding you today is not too hard for you, nor is it too far away. It is not in heaven, that you should say, “Who will go up to heaven for us, and get it for us so that we may hear it and observe it?” Neither is it beyond the sea, that you should say, “Who will cross to the other side of the sea for us, and get it for us so that we may hear it and observe it?” No, the word is very near to you; it is in your mouth and in your heart for you to observe."

From this text we come to know that in us there's something divine; there's goodness and holiness in all of us. In other words, we are godly, and because of this, we humans are distinct, honourable and glorious because of what is in us. This godly thing within us, the reign of Go, is due to the image and likeness of God. Or better, the image and likeness of God in human beings is the godly capacity in them. Thanks to this godly capacity that human beings have, they are capable of doing many godly things. Indeed, it is this godly capacity in man that makes the difference between humans and animals. This means further that the more godly we are the more human we are; and the more human we are the more godly we are.

This is what Jesus taught us this week, that doing good, mastering evil, is within us. "For we are what he has made us, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand to be our way of life." (Eph. 2:10) What this means is that, God made us not only good but also capable of doing good; being and doing good is within our capacity.

Christ also taught us this week that the faith we have is a tremendous force. That facing each task with the faith to do the job to the very best of our ability is all we need. He is saying the same thing today. The kingdom of God is not out there but in there; it is not to be sought from without but from within us, in our hearts. And if this is so, as it is, it means that no one should ever deceive us to look for it over there or to look over here! Don't fall prey for any of that nonsense. Just as the very Son of God was among us, as one of us, so is the power of God (the kingdom of God) within us. To God be praise and glory and honour, both now and forever.