6. This Kingdom life, this interactive life with God, is available to me now, today.
(Before looking at the questions below, take a few minutes to think about this statement. Invite Jesus to speak to you about what He would like you to notice.)
When you think of heaven, do you think of it mostly as it something that happens after you die? Or is it something that makes a difference in how you behave and live your life now?
It has been said that Jesus is more interested in getting heaven into us than getting us into heaven. What do you think of this idea?
What would it look like for you to have heaven inside of you?
What parts of heaven do you most desire in your life today? Make a list if you can.
Share this list with Jesus. What do sense He feels about your list?
Many of us mostly think about our life with God in terms of something that will happen in the future, when our life on earth has ended. It is natural to expect and imagine that since our bodies are physical, our world is physical, and since God is not materially present in our world, that experiencing God isn’t now. Much of our culture’s attention is on the material world and much of our life depends on the physical.
It is not surprising that we have become conditioned to thinking that an ongoing spiritual existence must come after this life ends. Most religions, even Christianity at times, in some way suggest that we will begin life-with-God only after we die. We are taught that it is important to live and believe in such a way that we are prepared for and permitted to live with God in His heavenly kingdom in a future life.
Jesus taught and showed us that the Kingdom is “now”—immediately available for any who want it. In His earthly life, Jesus showed us what it looks like to live a with-God life. He invited us to abide in Him and said that His Spirit would be constantly available to us. Jesus announced that the Kingdom had arrived and explained how to live in this present and available Kingdom of God. Jesus also described this present Kingdom life as bringing fullness and abundance to us in our earthly existence. So then
why do so many people not experience the full, abundant, interactive, relational life-with-God in their everyday lives? Perhaps it is partly because we don’t expect or believe that it is available to us today. Before we can desire it and experience it, we must believe that it is truly available to us. It is human nature that our actions follow what we know and believe to be true. If we knew that we had a winning lottery ticket, we would act on that knowledge and receive the benefit.
To be able to live in the present Kingdom of God, we must be convinced that it is available and have a vision of this Kingdom life that is compelling and inviting. More so than any lottery prize.