Jesus said the Kingdom of God is in our midst; why do we frequently miss it?

One of the challenging things about living in a nation where Christianity is commonplace and accepted is we can grow desensitized to the jarring differences in God’s Kingdom.  In a place where Jesus is unknown, his ways can seem very foreign to the ways of that culture; they can quickly see that a life with Jesus is vastly different than the life they’ve known.  In countries like America, forms of Christianity can be blended into every day life, and it can be easy to be a Christian while not changing the “kingdom” we serve.

Put another way, I can live as an American Christian and not actually function in the “upside-down” Kingdom of God.  I can talk about this Kingdom and miss that its in my midst.

An area this shows up is finances.  Throughout the history of the Church, believers have sought to follow Christ but engaged with money by the “earthly kingdom” rules: you need money to survive, there are certain ways you get money, and the more money the happier you are.  In the Kingdom of God, money is simply a tool — ultimately powerless — and what we need can come without money changing hands.  We see this disparity when the disciples argued with Jesus about the cost of feeding thousands, when Judas stole from the moneybag and betrayed Jesus for silver, and when Ananias and Saphira withheld funds while saying they gave it all.  We frequently make decisions and set goals that give money a tremendous amount of power; that approach does not work in the Kingdom of God:

“No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.”
Matthew 6:24

These individuals had committed to serving Christ, but they were still operating in the kingdom they had always known.  In their kingdom, money called the shots, not Jesus.

We too operate in the earthly kingdom while genuinely desiring God’s, and it could be because we are looking for it in the wrong way:

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, nor will people say, ‘Here it is,’ or ‘There it is,’ because the kingdom of God is in your midst.”
Matthew 17:20-21

We are looking for evidence of the Kingdom before believing that it is already here.  Our desire for control and security wants the Kingdom to be clear and mapped out so we know what we are getting into, and all Jesus gives us is, “Follow me.”

In 2015 my wife and I visited a friend serving in South Africa.  We were understandably intimidated by all the unknowns: what was this country like?  How are the rules different?  How might we need to operate, dress, or talk differently?  We were keenly aware that our culture and understanding was vastly different, and if we stepped in without mindfulness and a willingness to adjust, we would have a negative impact.

We could have read books on traveling in South Africa, but instead put our trust in our missionary friend, who had been authentically serving the country for years and saw it as home.  We packed and planned based on her wisdom, literally followed her through Pretoria, trusted her when she had us try spatlo in a nearby township, and heeded her advice on navigating the roads and cities.  Instead of being the stereotypical American tourists who come into new spaces without awareness or adjustments, our friend equipped us to visit in an honoring way, and experience South Africa as we couldn’t on our own.

If following our friend was essential for navigating another country, how much more so following Jesus for a Kingdom that cannot be observed!

Jesus did not come to give us good advice to apply to our existing lives: he came to invite us to abandon the kingdom we know and find full life in his kingdom.  If we want to see his Kingdom:

• We must first acknowledge that it is already in our midst, and that it is different than what we know
• We must be willing to leave our old kingdom for the new, committed to its culture, values, expectations, and purposes
• We must embrace that following Jesus is the way we enter and navigate the Kingdom; he is the only way in and through

The Pharisee in Matthew 17 had studied the scriptures and devoted his life to living for God, yet missed and misunderstood the Kingdom of God; he thought it hadn’t yet come, and Jesus shocked him by saying it “is in your midst.”  The Kingdom of God is in our midst as well.

We just need to decide which Kingdom we want to serve, and then go all-in.