“The Kingdom of God is not coming with things that can be observed … For, in fact, the Kingdom of God of which I speak is already within you.” ~ Jesus (Luke 17:20-21)

 

This is an extremely important biblical verse; indeed one of the most important ones in the entire New Testament … And the reason it is so important is that it fully quashes the highly dysfunctional belief held by most Christians that Heaven is some sort of eternal reward for the few who qualify as worthy enough for the same; that Heaven is a place somewhere other than Here to which only the “true believers” are allowed to journey at some point in the future after their physical deaths.

Jesus, of course – at least to the degree that he truly did comprehend Divine Morality & Divine Justice & Divine Love – wanted nothing to do with such nonsense.  For Jesus, “the Kingdom of Heaven” was a Bliss-filled state of being available to each & every sentient being in each & every moment of their lives.  It was accessed not by worshiping God correctly or bowing to Jesus devoutly or publicly outing oneself as a “sinner” or being baptized correctly by a priest, but rather by simply having the humility and the courage to reach out to others in need – especially when least wanting to do so, and especially to those deemed “least deserving” of the same (see Matthew 5:40-44, Matthew 10:7, Matthew 24:12-14 et al).

And indeed, it is this Heaven and this Heaven alone that harmonizes with the heavenly Father of Christ whose Love is without end or measure (Matthew 5:48) – it is this Heaven and this Heaven alone that harmonizes with that God whose mercy is over-arching (Luke 6:36), and it is this Heaven and this Heaven alone that resonates with a God whose Forgiveness lives without end (Matthew 8:21-22 + 1 John 4:18 + Luke 15:11-32, the Parable of the Prodigal Son et al).

 

Filed under: My Favorite Verses by Scaughdt