Once, 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, nor will people say, ‘Here it is,’ or ‘There it is,’ because the kingdom of God is within you.” – Luke 17:20-21
I can remember our first motorcycle, a Honda Trail 70. My uncle had it. His kids were grown and out of the house. One day, during a visit, he said “I should bring that bike down and let you guys have it, since my kids are gone.” I wanted to scream “YES! YES, YOU SHOULD!” What is cooler than having your own dirt bike as a kid? My uncle left that day and I continued to think about the bike. He would visit again, but no bike. Hmm, maybe next time. Every time he would visit I would look for the bike. No luck. I kept looking, waiting to unlock the world of motorcycling.
One spring day he pulled up and poking out the back of his Olds station wagon was the Trail 70. Score.
The leaders of Jesus’ day were looking for the kingdom of God. They knew that it was coming. Like a kid looking for a motorcycle, they were on the lookout for a kingdom to be established by God.
But Jesus blows their whole search away. They are looking in the wrong place. The kingdom, says Jesus, is inside of us.
God, could it be that you have placed the guidance and power of the kingdom inside a bunch of broken down people? I pray for your kingdom to come, but it is already here. Maybe I should pray that I have the guts to release it. Is the kingdom not as powerful as I wish because I have yet to fully surrender to you?
Dwight Moody once said “The world has yet to see what God can do through a man or woman fully yielded to him.”
I have been looking in the wrong place for the kingdom.
[tags]Honda trail 70, motorcycle, kingdom, devotions, journaling[/tags]