The Kingdom Of God is like.......a kingdom

In staff meeting this past week, my pastor asked us as a staff to answer the question "What is the Gospel?" So we broke into groups and began to really wrestle with that question. In wrestling with that question, I came to a stunning realization about the Kingdom of God. It is like..... a kingdom. I know that that is unbelievably profound and completely original....yeah. But what I realized is that maybe we have really over spiritualized a concept that I don't think Jesus ever meant to be overspiritualized. I think that may be part of the reason that Western Christianity can look really anemic especially when it comes to answering the question "What is the gospel?".

In many ways, the gospel has become a set of beliefs that we acknowledge and agree with and we might even say a specific prayer that states those beliefs. Don't misinterpret what I'm saying here, that prayer and those beliefs are a crucial beginning for many and I don't want to make light of them but also, for many, that's where the journey has stopped and that has led to lives that look nothing like what Jesus said a disciple would looks. So it brings me back to the whole concept of a Kingdom. If we take a more literal look at the concept of Kingdom then it might also give a more wholistic view of the Gospel.

The starting point would be citizenship. In becoming a citizen of a new nation or kingdom, there is a cost to be counted. For instance, in becoming a citizen of the U.S. you would need to agree to not only recieve the inherent rights and freedoms of being a citizen but you would also need to be willing to agree to adhere to the laws and responsibilities that come with citizenship. You are not obeying the laws in order to earn your citizenship, you obey them because when you became a citizen, you knew that it was well worth those responsibilities in order to recieve the freedoms and rights held by a U.S. citizen. That is as far as I'll take that metaphor because there is so much more to the Kingdom of God.

Because of what Christ has done for us on the cross and through His resurrection, the high price for our citizenship has been paid. Christ literally took on the cost of our attrocities and war crimes against Him and His creation when we were citizens of the enemy kingdom and paid for them so that we could enter into a new Kingdom. Not just as citizens but as sons and daughters of the King, literally jumping from the status of enemy of the state to member of the royal family. To recive this citizenship, there is only one narrow door that we must pass through and that is the door of Christ.

Once we pass through that door, the journey has only begun. As sons and daughters of God, we are called to simply look like our Father as we look like His firstborn Son. We have a beautiful responsibility to carry with us the Kingdom of God. We counted the cost and died to our citizenship and our loyalties to the old kingdom because we knew that anything that we let go of there could not even pale in comparison to all that we gained as citizens of the new Kingdom. We don't bear our responsibility to pay for our citizenship. It was far too high a price to pay and only Christ could pay if for us. We bear our responsibilities because we knew that that is what it means to be a citizen of God's Kingdom recieving all of the rights, freedom, and inheritance that is given to a son or daughter of God. We become like Christ because that's just who you are once you enter His Kingdom.

And yet, somehow Christianity often times doesn't look any different than so many of the religious systems of belief that have become the "opiate of the masses" in the fallen kingdom. Now don't get me wrong, I'm not saying it's all bad because there are definitely times where I see sparks and glimpses of moments whether its in my own life or through the lives and stories of others where a radiant Kingdom reveals itself and these people show up who act alienly divine (if I can use alienly). Their actions seem to rise above the rhythm of hopelessness and their lives whisper or shout "Its not a fairy tale! There is a place and it is within arms reach where there will be a happy ending because the King is good and you can join His family."

There is a Kingdom that has come and is coming. Maybe we as a church need to reevaluate our naturalization process into this new citizenship so that we can fully know not only the responsibilities and calling to become like the firstborn Son who is just like the Father but also to know all of the incredible freedoms, rights, and inheritance that will be given to all who become sons and daughters of the Most High God and the King of the Great Kingdom..