I once held a belief system that was exclusive. It told me that individuals who did not have Jesus Christ as Lord of their lives were living outside the kingdom of God. And, by the way, that is partially true. Outside a personal relationship with Jesus that comes through repentance and his forgiveness of my sin, no person is inherently part of God’s kingdom. Nor can they claim the privileges, rights and rewards of that kingdom. They remain separate from God and lost in sin.
Yet, every person born has been created in the image of God and has full access to forgiveness, deliverance, healing, blessing and provision. Every living person, every person who has ever lived and every person who will live – is living, has lived and will continue to live under the blessing of God, which means full access to his bounty. Even those who hate God continue to live in safety and good health. Even those who persecute and/or kill God’s people continue to enjoy the benefits of God’s creation. They are given food to eat, a home to live in and security to enjoy. And, while these people will one day give account for their actions, God’s provision, grace and forgiveness are still available to them.
There is yet another way, though, in which my world is part of what I would call God’s kingdom society.
Luke’s Gospel tells us that “Once, on being asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, Jesus replied, ‘The coming of the kingdom of God is not something that can be observed, nor will people say, ‘Here it is,’ or ‘There it is,’ because the kingdom of God is in your midst.’” (Luke 17: 20, 21)
Everything in my world is either part of, influenced by or within range of the society of God’s kingdom rule. No thing, event or person is outside its influence. Each and every person in it –the good, the bad, the agnostic, the atheist and the ornery neighbor – is, in a very real sense, part of its society, created in God’s image and given access to full and eternal salvation.
Because of the effect of God’s rule upon me, God’s kingdom is active in and around each and every person that I am in contact with. While each person still needs to make his or her own choice to serve Christ, each of them is within God’s circle of influence – simply because they are within my circle of influence. In this sense they are part of God’s kingdom’s society.
According to Webster’s Dictionary, a society is a “companionship or association with one’s fellows.” It consists of a willing involvement of people that have something in common. They group together, work together or meet together because of shared interests, values, or vocations. They have created relationships through constant exposure to one another and have established common customs, institutions, behaviors and pursuits.
While I am commanded, “Do not conform to the pattern of this world,” (Rom. 12:2a) this does not mean that I am to be physically, socially, economically, or politically disengaged from my world. In fact, the opposite is true, because I am also commanded, “but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is–his good, pleasing and perfect will.” (Rom. 12:2b)
This tells me that, while I am to be separate from the world in spirit, attitude and motivation, I am to be reconditioned in the way I think about my world: I need to see my world as God sees it. As a result, I am able to engage in it in the way he wants me to engage in it, and consequently, see his will accomplished, his kingdom come, his will be done, “on earth as it is in heaven.” (Mat. 6:10)
When I work late and hard to create terms and conditions that will bring a buyer and a seller together into an agreement, God’s kingdom rule is highly influential. When I play pick-up hockey with my friends on Saturday night, God’s kingdom is active. When I attend the parent-teacher interview with my child, the influence of God’s kingdom is in full effect. When I vote, his rule is being implemented. His kingdom is there as I plant tomatoes in the spring, as I serve communion at my church, as I volunteer to help rebuild a community ravaged by flooding, and it is there as I celebrate with my friends on New Years Eve.