Hidden in plain sight
- Gary Fritsch
- Nov 12
- 2 min read
The Kingdom of God is among you. Sure it is. Jesus is certainly talking about somewhere else, right? He hasn't been at my workplace, has He? Has He seen the chaos at my family gatherings? Does He know about the vitriol being spewed back and forth on my phone each day? He must have been talking about the neighborhood that He was in at that time, right? Yes, He was.
The reason that Jesus is emphatic about the Kingdom of God being in their midst is that they had been waiting for it for over 1000 years. He is announcing the arrival of the Kingdom. But what is the Kingdom? As theologian N.T. Wright puts it: the Kingdom is already but not yet. Well that clears it up, doesn't it?
The Kingdom is something infinite, something eternal and therefore it cannot be completely located or completely contained in one day, place or time. So, while Jesus was indeed talking about the Kingdom being among those who were around Him, He was also announcing that the Kingdom had begun - for all of us. How did it begin? It began with a focus on loving God and loving neighbor, as Jesus takes stony hearts and replaces them with fleshy hearts. He introduces them to the love of God - in the flesh.
This is the challenge of the Christian who hopes for the Kingdom of God: Notice it, call it forth, bring it about. We can notice it in every way in which we see others trying to love - but we have to be attentive because it can be hidden in plain sight. When we are looking for the good, for the loving, we can sometimes look past or lose focus on the bad or the ugly (that's a refreshing feeling). Stay focused on seeing Him in plain sight.
Comments