The Kingdom of God is within you

 

Welcome to my blog. Peace be with you.

Today, the Lord tells us that the Kingdom of heaven is within you. We can enjoy the reality of the Kingdom already here on earth but in faith. God lives in those who love him. Now is the time for us to join his Kigdom.

Thursday 12 November 2020

The Kingdom of God is within you

 

Gospel

Luke 17:20-25

The kingdom of God is among you

Asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God was to come, Jesus gave them this answer, ‘The coming of the kingdom of God does not admit of observation and there will be no one to say, “Look here! Look there!” For, you must know, the kingdom of God is among you.’

He said to the disciples, ‘A time will come when you will long to see one of the days of the Son of Man and will not see it. They will say to you, “Look there!” or, “Look here!” Make no move; do not set off in pursuit; for as the lightning flashing from one part of heaven lights up the other, so will be the Son of Man when his day comes. But first he must suffer grievously and be rejected by this generation.’

Prayerful reflection

What is Jesus telling us in this passage? There will be a glorious establishment of the Kingdom of God which be the fulfilment of all the Father’s plans and desires for creation. In the Kingdom Jesus, the only Begotten Son of the Father, will rule. It will be a Kingdom of Love, Justice and Peace. When, and how it will come and what it will be like, we do not know. ‘Thy Kingdom come’ is our daily prayer.

But Jesus is saying something else here. He is telling us that the Kingdom has already come in a secret and hidden way. ‘It is within you.’ Through faith and love Jesus lives in our hearts. Wherever Jesus is, there is the Kingdom. Like the sprouting seed is the burgeoning harvest so Jesus in our hearts and in our community is the burgeoning Kingdom of God. Secretly through our living faith we can be in the Kingdom and enjoy the rule of Jesus in our lives.

But before we can have the glorious Kingdom, in this world of sin and diabolical influence those who have chosen to live with, for and in Jesus will suffer internal temptation and external persecution from the active enemies of the Kingdom, just as Jesus did when on earth. The enemies of the Kingdom will not win their war, but Jesus has not yet finally bound and imprisoned them. We must fight and suffer to win the Kingdom.