The Kingdom of God is Within You

This is a picture of my screensaver.  It says, “The kingdom of God is within you.”  I’ve been thinking about what this mysterious saying of Jesus Christ really means to the Christian life.

In the scriptures, Jesus promises the kingdom of God, also called the kingdom of heaven, to those who follow His teachings. 

About the teachings, Jesus said, “Do not think I’ve come to abolish the law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them.” Matthew 5:17. 

The old commandments still count.  Jesus says that if we break the old laws (the 10 commandments, for example) and if we encourage others to break them, we will be diminished.   He says if we practice and teach the commandments to others, we will be greater for it.  But, then, Jesus says that our righteousness should be greater, even, than that of the teachers of the law before we can “enter the kingdom”.

In these scriptures, Jesus helps us see that we must be changed in heart and soul.  Following the law isn’t good enough.  Jesus taught that it isn’t right to do something unkind, unloving or wrong in any sense, even if justified by the law.

¹⁰and a man with a shriveled hand was there. Looking for a reason to accuse Jesus, they asked him, “Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?”

 11He said to them, “If any of you has a sheep and it falls into a pit on the Sabbath, will you not take hold of it and lift it out? 12How much more valuable is a man than a sheep! Therefore it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath.” – Matthew 12:10-12

To be in God’s kingdom, Jesus taught that we surrender selfish expressions of ourselves, including anger, unhealthy attachments & separations, irresponsible promises, defensiveness and contempt for others.  Until these self-absorbed conditions are surrendered, our efforts to know and show God’s love to others are compromised by our bitter spirits.

When we yield our self-concerned focus to God’s protection and love, we are profoundly changed in a way that affects everyone around us for the good.

Jesus gave us the keys to the kingdom through his life and teaching.  He implores believers to surrender to his message of love so that those who are seeking the kingdom of God will see the evidence of it in our lives and places of worship.  And surrender, in this sense, doesn’t mean casting responsibility aside.  It actually means taking responsibility for our intentions and how we act from them.

Surrendering old attitudes and selfish concerns – and taking responsibility for our motivations and intentions – may always seem like a work in progress, but we should attend to this inner work.  Jesus did good works, and we are inspired to do the same, but Jesus never taught a list of good works as key to the kingdom.  The kingdom isn’t a mysterious place that lets you in, when you compile enough brownie points, nor is it some great fortune of property or wealth or dominion over others to reward your good works.

²⁰Once, having been asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, Jesus replied, “The kingdom of God does not come with your careful observation, ²¹nor will people say, ‘Here it is,’ or ‘There it is,’ because the kingdom of God is within you.” Luke 17:20-21