THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN IS NOT A DESTINATION, IT'S A MOVEMENT

Keri Wyatt Kent recently wrote in Christianity Today:
"The kingdom of heaven isn't just a place we go when we die; it's a movement we're part of today. It's living in the presence of God forever, starting right now. Eternity, by definition, is all time, including the present moment.

"Instead of being about the kingdom of God coming to earth, the Christian religion has too often become preoccupied with abandoning or escaping earth and going to heaven," pastor and author Brian McLaren writes in The Secret Message of Jesus. "Too often its members have forgotten the teachings of Jesus about making peace and turning the other cheek and crossing boundaries to serve people formerly considered 'outsiders.'

"Jesus talked about the future, no doubt. But mostly he lived as if the kingdom of God truly was "at hand." He told us to pray, "Your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven" (Matthew 6:10). This prayer isn't just hoping for change, but asking God to direct us in facilitating that change and then—often the most neglected part of prayer—actually doing what he commands.

"Jesus also said his disciples would be known by their sacrificial love for each other and for God (John 13:35). How do we show that love? Jesus said: "For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me" (Matthew 25:35-36).

"People who live in the kingdom of God right now choose to give, to practice hospitality, to be kind to the suffering, sick, or poor. We experience the kingdom of heaven on earth when we recognize God's presence here with us and serve him as if he really is our King."
To read the rest of this excellent article go to the link KENT

As a pastor seeking to lead a church to follow the leadership of the Holy Spirit, I believe that Kent is on solid, essential ground. The kingdom of heaven is not a destination, it's a movement. Too many Christians have been co-opted by the consumerism of our culture and think only in terms of personal needs and satisfaction,  For them the emphasis is on heaven and once they are assured that they have a place prepared for them there and a ticket to ride to that destination, they pretty much stop thinking intentionally about living in the kingdom of God on this side of eternity.

In that mindset they have abandoned or forgotten the powerful reality that we are a countercultural movement.  Our job is to be distinct within our culture as witnesses to the more perfect way of the kingdom of God than the temporary way of the kingdom of this world --a kingdom that is not eternal. Jesus calls us to be "salt and light" - to flavor our world with the distinctiveness of Christ, to preserve the world by making sure that God's eternal values are brought to bear and influence in this life - to bring "light" to a world that embraces its darkness as truth, by demonstrating what the real truth of God is and showing how it can transform our lives (and our world).

Too often our destination mentality excuses us (or so we think) of living like Jesus.  Too often we believe it is safe and sensible to embrace our temporal cultural values rather than representing God's eternal ones.  And in the "reality" we create, we actually contribute to the problem of God being out of sight and out of mind for most of the world.  Our steeples, and T-shirts, and publications are insufficient to overcome the powerful message of human culture.

In this world we think membership where Jesus commands discipleship.
In this mindset we think savings, where God works for salvation.
We chose preservation, God desires sacrifcial obedience.
We desire comfort, God wants us to take up a cross and follow Him.

How very different the 21st American church would be if we were truly citizens of the kingdom of heaven that is being manifested here on earth! How very different our world would be if we believed the kingdom of heaven was not a destination, but a movement of God.