From There to Here

How far away from here is the kingdom of heaven or the Kingdom of God?  Is it far away?  Is it so far away it is unknown to us?

Perhaps  three other questions can help us move toward an answer.

Do you have someone you deeply love who has passed away and you believe they are in heaven?   Do you feel they are far away from you as you think of them in heaven?  Has the distance to heaven closed for you since they are there?

Distances change when you know someone who is alive in another place.  It seems they cannot be too far away if you can still sense they are there, they are fine and you, too, could someday go there.

Jesus taught us to pray about the Kingdom as if it could come here.  He makes it sound like the question is not one of geography or distance but one of behavior and cooperation with God.

Read again the Lord’s prayer and notice the idea of there and here.  See if the distance between there and here closes in this prayer.

In this manner, therefore, pray:

Our Father in heaven,

Hallowed be Your name.

Your kingdom come.

Your will be done

On earth as it is in heaven.

Give us this day our daily bread.

And forgive us our debts,

As we forgive our debtors.

And do not lead us into temptation,

But deliver us from the evil one.

For Yours is the kingdom and the power 

and the glory forever. Amen.

Matthew 6:9-13

The key to understanding much of Jesus’ teaching is to remember He came from the Kingdom of God where the will of God is always done.  In a very real sense, because of His obedience to the Father while here,  He is the Kingdom coming from there to here. He is the answer to the prayer “You Kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven”.

Jesus obeying His Father here as He always had obeyed Him there brought the Kingdom close and closed the distance forever for those who believe.

In a very real sense Jesus is the Way from “There” to “Here” and back again.

“For I am the way, the truth and the life, no man comes to the Father, except through me.”  John 14:6

Jesus with us means the distance has closed between “here” and “there” forever.  The more we cooperate with Jesus, the closer the Kingdom comes to here.

Every obedient Christian is the Kingdom coming here.

Bud McCord

Abide International