God's Kingdom Belongs to KidsSample

Day Four: Now In God’s Kingdom

What does growth look like, living by Jesus’ teaching, “...change and become like little children…”? Children have a unique ability to live in the present. What is happening “now” absorbs all of their attention. Growth in childlike maturity allows us to live in the present instead of obsessing about the past or the future. 

Some of us dwell in the past. We rework moments in our memories – what we should have done, what we wished would have happened. Some of us live through a future orientation. We are always looking to a future state we want to arrive at; in the winter, we long for the rays of summer, and in summer we can taste the pumpkin spice of fall.

The trouble with being stuck either in the past or the future is that both rob you of being able to live fully in the present. When Jesus talks about the kingdom of heaven, he is not merely talking about a heaven to come, but he is making an invitation to experience the life of God on the earth right now. The kingdom of God is actually a place of peace in the midst of this anxious world and it’s available right now, in the present, to everyone.

This is why Jesus says,  “... nor will people say, ‘Here it is,’ or ‘There it is,’ because the kingdom of God is in your midst.” Where Jesus is, the kingdom is: in your midst, available right now. God is not stuck in your past or waiting to meet you in the future. God wants to meet you and speak to you right now in the present, always. 

So, if you feel defined by some moment in your past, or if you’re preoccupied with some future state, the kingdom of God is very good news. Don’t miss what God is teaching and speaking and doing right now!

Here’s how Jesus said it: “...do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.” Maybe you think that was easy for Jesus, a nomad, traveling in an agrarian society. We live in the rush of modern relations. Well, Jesus had a pretty full plate: a rescue mission for the entire human race in a three-year window. Do you think you are busy? With all he had on his shoulders, Jesus was available to everyone he met!

Reflection: What might God be trying to show you or teach you or give you right now that you’re missing out on because you are stuck in the past or the future?  

Prayer:  "God, help me notice what you are doing in your kingdom right now, and let me join you in every new place that I go.”