There is a notion among many Christians that the kingdom of God is only to be experienced after death.  Yes, if we abide in God and seek to do his will, there is a heaven that awaits us upon our death to this life.  But so much of what Jesus said to the disciples and people of his day exhorted them to advance the kingdom in their present lives by living according to his word. 

When the Pharisees asked Jesus when the kingdom of God would come, Jesus said, “The kingdom of God does not come with your careful observation, nor will people say, ‘Here it is,’ or ‘there it is,’ because the kingdom of God is within you.”  (Luke 17:20-21)

In other words, we can experience the kingdom now if we follow Jesus’ words.  As he says in the first petition of his Lord’s prayer, “your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is heaven.” (Mt. 6:10) 

A few years ago, I learned that a particular friend had lost his wife to cancer.  While speaking with someone who has just lost a loved one can be awkward, I felt like the Holy Spirit was nudging me to go see him.  When he came to the door, I said, “I came to give you a hug.”  We hugged and he invited me in.  He appeared to be all alone.  For the next hour, I listened to him talk about the last few months of his wife’s suffering, the last few hours of her life, and all the support he had received from friends, his pastor and medical personnel.  I listened as he reminisced about their life together. 

My time with him, as well as the subsequent funeral celebrating her life, was an example of the reality of the kingdom of God in the present moment!

How do you experience the kingdom of God here and now?