Jesus spent most of His time prattling on about the “Kingdom of God,” i.e., His understanding of what the world should be like, how it should operate, it’s values, practices, benefits, etc. Of course there were(are) huge differences between Jesus’ theotopia and how our world operates today, but He assured us that God’s kingdom would one day be a reality, and that we should live and act like her citizens.

His disciples lived in great expectation of this kingdom, calling Jesus “King,” “Messiah,” “Savior;” fully convinced that His advent meant that His kingdom would follow close behind.

That’s also why so many rejected Jesus as Messiah. From their point of view, there was no kingdom. The Roman Empire continued to have its way with all things Jewish, and Jesus’ followers were the losers, sinners, and rejects of the day. No palace? No golden throne? No lighting bolts for their enemies? Whatever.

Jesus’ detractors had their own understanding of how the world should operate, their own vision for “kingdom,” and they had found a way to make money from it. They wanted nothing to do with someone who’s kingdom vision didn’t jive with theirs, especially one that their “customers” found much more compelling.

The Kingdom of God is Like…

Jesus spent so much time talking about His kingdom because all of humanity has a vision for how things should work, an overwhelming hope for things to come. He also knew that the kingdoms in our minds, and how we try to force them on the world, simply don’t cut the muster, and tend to cause massive problems.

For example, recently, a self-avowed white nationalist invaded two New Zealand mosques and did his best to force the world to operate as he thought it should. He published a manifesto, explaining his motivations, detailing his own vision for “kingdom.”

He was afraid that the white race would soon end as the world becomes more racially integrated than it’s ever been. In his mind, the races should remain separate, each occupying their own piece of the world. This way, whites could stay white.

He considered the world’s brown trajectory, called it “evil,” got scared, then angry, then considered himself a martyr, then, tragically, tried to force his own kingdom on us.

As I reflect on the horror that he perpetrated, and the ones that are sure to follow, I’m reminded that we have some things in common with this man, especially us Christians who’ve become increasingly agitated about recent developments in our world and how they don’t jive with our understanding of “kingdom.”

We’re angry about Gay marriage, abortion. We’re angry about non-whites who can’t seem to shut up about the equal rights that we gave them so long ago. Our current political administration seems to embrace so many of our values, but the world keeps picking on our president. All of this has us asking, “Should we sit still for this?”

And let’s not pretend that we don’t carry a bit of Brenton Tarrant’s sickness in us. As non-whites gain more freedom and equity, we get upset.

Shouldn’t we protect our world? Ourselves?

That’s what so many of Jesus’ disciples were asking. The Roman occupation of their holy land was anathema, and bloody. On many occasions, devout Jewish folk tried to resist, and met a brutal end. To this, Jesus, the self proclaimed Messiah-King that the ancient Jewish scriptures foretold, had something to say (my paraphrase):

“Turn from your campaign against the Romans, or whatever else you’ve set your face against, or have given your heart to. The Kingdom of Heaven is near; like, really near – so close you can touch it.”

In everyone’s mind, Messiah would come and destroy the Romans, set up a huge palace, sit on His throne, and everything would fall into place, especially for ancient Jewish folk. There would be peace, prosperity, joy – all the things that come part and parcel to our idea of “kingdom.”

So when Jesus said, “What Romans? We’ve got bigger fish to fry,” he lost some support.

If Jesus were to come again, He’d say the same thing about our anti-whatever campaigns, reminding us that His kingdom is still the only one we need to worry about.

To that, many of us Christian folk would say, “Yeah, Jesus, we know, that’s why we’re taking a stand against all of these sinful, unholy, gross, ugly things that we know you hate. Aren’t you proud?”

Jesus: “What about all the things you’re doing that I hate?”

“Repent, for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand.”

As Jesus followers, the Bible informs our understanding of how the world should operate, and mister is it ever not operating like it’s supposed to. We’re worried about where things are heading. Some of us, in our fear, have become angry. But that’s OK because our anger is justified. It isn’t driven by fear, it’s driven by holiness, by the righteous precepts of God Himself. Aren’t we responding as God would?

But when you look at how we respond/fail to respond to the people who are messing up our kingdom, you can smell the fear, though we’ll be hard pressed to admit it. American Christians don’t like talking about emotions, or having our motivations questioned.

For those of us willing to take a deeper look, the scriptures remind us that action driven by fear can never be righteous. God is love, and there is no fear in love (1 John 4:18). There should be no fear in us. Action? Yes. Fear?

And nowhere in the teachings of Jesus will you find Him conscripting us to ensure that the world bows to God’s rules. You’ll find plenty of commandments for us to bow to God’s rules, but that’s as far as it goes. And, ironically, especially for us Christians, the more we feel like it’s up to us, the more we transgress the rules of God to push what we think is His agenda.

We judge (“do not judge”). We point fingers (“do not judge”). We incite division (“have no divisions amongst you”), We spread our anger farther than any culture before us (“be at peace with everyone, as far as you are able”). We blindly follow the rules of the kingdom that’s in our mind, like Brenton Tarrant did. Most of us would never consider killing someone over this, but so many of God’s rules get broken here.

And if a well-meaning brother/sister/pastor/etc. tries to correct us, we’ll remind them that we’re doing God’s work.

To my brothers and sisters who believe that the world is getting worse, I’m with you. We’re more isolated, entitled, spoiled, angry, violent, horny, fat, and in a general state of discontent than any culture before us. We’re not well.

What should we do about it? Sit idly by and watch our world go to hell in a handbasket?

Jesus told us what to do. He said “repent,” then gave us a long list of the rules of His kingdom, the rules we are to follow, even though this kingdom isn’t fully with us.

If you need a refresher, as I do, Here’s a short list of Jesus’ do’s and do not’s:

• • Do not fear (mt 10:28)
  • Do not judge (mt 7:1-3)
  • Let the light that I give you shine before others (mt 5:16)
  • If you have something against someone, be reconciled to them before you come to church (mt 5:23-25)
  • Keep your word (mt 5:37)
  • Love everyone, even your enemies (mt 5:44-46)
  • Don’t brag or go public with your religious stuff (mt 6:1-18)
  • Don’t force your religious stuff on people who aren’t interested. You’ll get your ass kicked (mt 7:6)
  • Don’t do stuff to others that you don’t want them doing to you (mt 7:12)
  • Come to me and I’ll give you rest (mt 11:28-30)
  • Seek first the kingdom of God [instead of the one in your mind], then all the other stuff you’re looking for will be yours (mt 6:33)

There’s more, but you get the idea. None of these have anything to do with legislating someone else’s morality, or forcing someone, however non-lethal our method might be, into conforming to God’s moral code.

1,000 Jesuses

If you want to force things, or commit some Christian jihad so that God’s rules would reign on this earth, go to war with yourself, like Jesus told you to.

But how does personal change – forcing myself to bow to God’s authority – transform the world into the kingdom that it’s supposed to be?

Changing the world is not our job. It’s God’s – and this is where us Christians really struggle. Our reasoning goes something like this:

If we embrace the LGBTQ community, our world will become even more corrupt. Now we have the whole gender confusion thing – see where this is heading? If we don’t get serious about abortion legislation, more babies will die. We. Have. To. Fight!!!!

It’s up to us, which really means either God is not in control of this world, or He’s passed control to us. And I can assure you that He hasn’t asked us to take the wheel. What fool would ask a three year old to drive a car?

The scriptures proclaim, over and over again, that God is seated on “His throne.” That’s not a pretty picture of the almighty taking a break in His easy chair. It’s a statement of authority. Thrones are the locus of power and rule. When God sits in this particular chair, He’s gettin’ ready to throw down.

It’s a statement of Power. Authority. Dominion. It reminds us that God is in full control of the trajectory of our world, however brown that might be. Because God is on His throne, we don’t have to be controlled by the fear and anger that will only and always lead to dark places.

And so many of us have guns.

I’m not suggesting that we don’t have some responsibilities here. We’re compelled to vote, to voice our opinions, our concerns, to take action. But when we excuse ourselves from the God-kingdom precepts of humility, grace, compassion, and forgiveness –  pointing fingers at our enemies, judging them, spreading our division and hatred – we’ve fallen victim to the fear and anger that has no place in God’s kingdom. We’re forcing it, and the kingdom of God is not ours to force.

His world doesn’t come with force, or fear. It comes with love.

And we can rest assured that the best place to start is with personal change, the kind St. Paul calls us to:

“In your lives you must think and act like Christ Jesus” Phillippians 2:5

If 1 Jesus turned the world on its head, imagine what 1,000 Jesi could do, or a million. If we repent from our own pursuits, and become like Him, wouldn’t that change everything?

I’m compelled to audit my life, with brutal honesty, and conform it to Jesus’. That’s the most violent, effective thing I can do if I want this world to change. But I’m also forced to accept the world as it is, regardless of what appropriate ways I might find to resist.

When I find myself angry, especially with regards to politics, I’m no longer buying the lie that my anger is righteous. For myself, and the hordes of other angry Christians, I’m convinced that the root of our anger is fear. As I take an axe to my own version of “kingdom” so that God’s might prevail, I hope that’s where I start.

Photo Credit: Jens Lelie