The kingdom has come near
There was a time when Jesus appointed seventy-two people and sent them two by two ahead of him to every place where he was about to go. When they entered a town and were welcomed into someone’s home, they were to stay there, eating and drinking whatever their hosts would give them.
He told them, “When you enter a town and are welcomed, eat what is offered to you. Heal the sick who are there and tell them, ‘The kingdom of God has come near to you.’” (Luke 10:8,9)
The thought expressed here is this: while the kingdom rule of God is a future hope that all followers of Christ have, it is also as immediate as it was with the seventy-two people he sent out. This means two things:
It is near in place.
There is no physical distance between me and God’s kingdom rule. I do not have to travel to a shrine or to some holy place to encounter God. I need only to stand where I am standing. It is here where I live and work that I will see his rule implemented. He is in the place which I occupy and he is in the place that I move about in. He is fully present where I am.
It is near in time.
There is no chronological distance involved in his kingdom. He is as much fully active in my world now as he will be at the end of this age and into eternity.
While the manifestation of his rule may be different, as it has been at various times throughout history, his presence is fully and equally real in every time and era.
So, if God’s kingdom rule is near in both place and time, I therefore have the right, power and privilege to live out its full glory and influence – here and now.
