The Kingdom of God, Part 2

The Kingdom of God, Part 2

…strive first for the kingdom of God and (its) righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.[1]

One of the foundational teachings of today’s Christianity that most needs crucifixion (in my opinion) is the notion of heaven as a place we might go when our earthly life is finished. I am not suggesting that a loving and lovely existence may not await as an after-death reality, but when Jesus spoke of the kingdom of heaven he was referring to a present-day, here-and-now reality as opposed to some future possibility. To the extent we treat heaven as a distant, future destination, as many churches proclaim, to that same extent do we miss the point of the life and teachings of Jesus. Following Jesus is not after-life insurance, as if regular church attendance provides our ticket into a heavenly hereafter. That concept might be good for church attendance, but it is terrible theology.  Rather, Jesus modeled a transformed way of living in the here and now, for the purpose of making today better for us and others. The after-this-life was rarely a topic of his, nor is it for the Bible as a whole. People in biblical times seemed to accept, as we cannot, that whatever awaited after this life could not be known but could be experienced and trusted.[2] Realizing this helps us understand that focusing on how we can make today better for everyone is more important than worrying about what may or may not happen tomorrow for ourselves.

The concepts of the kingdom of heaven and eternity for Jesus and other wisdom spiritualists are not about a future in space or time but about the now in the present moment. As we learn to be fully and consciously present to the moments of our lives we realize we stand at a crossroads where past and future intersect. Those moments of conscious awareness contain within them everything that has happened and everything that will happen all in the same instant – and that is eternity. Eternity does not occur in sequential time as we erroneously conceive but is contained within the present moment. Like the kingdom of heaven Jesus referred to, eternity is not something we wait for but something we enter into.

Jesus frequently described the kingdom as being near and at hand.[3] The eternal nearness of the kingdom is a reality because it is not a place anywhere other than where we are, nor does it exist in a time other than now. Fourteenth century mystic, Meister Eckhart, explains that “…the kingdom is here when we are awake enough to see it” and that “…the coming of the kingdom depends upon our consciousness.”[4] Once our conscious awareness is properly focused, the kingdom of God becomes apparent wherever we happen to be, whenever we happen to be there. We carry the kingdom with us because it is anywhere and everywhere, but its sole entrance is within us. Another way to consider the nearness of God’s kingdom is as a body of water in which we, like a fish, exist. We move, live, and have our being in it whether we are aware of it or not. We cannot understand the terms kingdom, heaven, eternity, or even God, at least as Jesus used them, by considering them in the same way we consider things of the earth that we only perceive as external to or separate from us. What Jesus referred to when using such language exists in what seems a parallel universe or another dimension because it exists all around us but is completely obscured until we develop the eyes to see it.

We can neither draw upon nor experience the power, protection, or perfection of the kingdom of God until we become consciously aware of it. And we cannot enter it as long as we believe it only to be an after-death destination, as many churches teach. In doing so, they keep us blind to both the teachings of Jesus and the nature of God, even if with the best of intentions. No teacher who has yet to experience the kingdom in this way can lead another to it.

Jesus tells us that if we seek God’s kingdom first, all things will be given us as well. Having all things given to us, however, does not mean we solely possess them or can do with them whatever we want. It means we can draw upon all things because they are part of the same kingdom to which we are a part. As equal and inseparable parts of a single Oneness, the experience of any part becomes the experience of all other parts.

This is the 27^th in a series titled Crucifying Christianity, Resurrecting the Way.Life Notes are my explorations into mysteries that interest me. They are invitations for readers to explore more deeply into life’s mysteries. Engage with me or explore contemplative spiritual direction at ghildenbrand@outlook.com.

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[1] Matthew 6:33

[2] See my book, If I Should Die Before I Wake, www.ContemplatingGrace.com, 2021.

[3] See Matthew 4:17, 10:7,12 ;28; Mark 1:15, 12:34; Luke 6:20, 9:27, 10:9, 11:20, 17:21, 21:31.

[4] Matthew Fox, Passion for Creation, Inner Traditions Publishing, 1980, p. 142.