Jesus came proclaiming that the Kingdom of God was here. He knew it was, because he himself was living in it. While the rules of the earthly kingdoms are selfishness (however cleverly disguised), Jesus lived by the rules of gentleness, kindness, self-control, faithfulness, hope, meekness and peacefulness. When we look at Jesus, we get a glimpse into the Kingdom of God. He invites us to live there with him now.

This is not to deny the afterlife nor to say that life right now is Heaven. But we can live in the Kingdom now amidst the earthly kingdoms.

A whale comes to the surface to take a deep breath of air before diving back into the depths of the water. It sustains itself on the air it took in from the surface. It may look similar to a fish who filters out its oxygen from the water, but inside the whale is fresh air from the surface itself. The whale must resurface eventually, but back down into the sea it will return as soon as it’s caught its breath. We are living in the world — we are surrounded by water. Through prayer, we take a deep breath of the Spirit. It is this Spirit which sustains us while we mingle around the watery depths. Surely it would be better to be able to walk on land with air surrounding us, but we are not there yet. We can, however, hold that Spirit within us wherever we go. And this is how we enter into the Kingdom of God.

If we abide in the Spirit, then we shall bear the fruits of the Spirit. These fruits are what the Kingdom look like. When someone is in a country with no rights and a poor economy, they move to a country with freedoms and benefits. As we bear these fruits, others will see and wish to join the Kingdom as well.

This begs the question: If I wish to do my part in spreading the Kingdom, what should I be doing now?

I’ve been wondering about this for years now. The seed that would germinate into what I am talking about now was planted a few years ago. The bold part is what struck me so hard. I included the rest because he says so much of what I’d love to say so well.

To do this thoroughly, Love must come at the centre of our lives in such a manner that each of us is prepared for any sacrifice. .. We must be ready like Jesus himself to pray for our murderers if ever the occasion arises. That is His absolute standard, and He will never lower it. Let us, first of all, get as far together as we can in those matters wherein most of us would be agreed. Even today it is surely practicable and feasible for Christians, not only individually, but in groups, to renounce superfluous wealth and live in the simplest manner possible, which will make them more at one with their poorer neighbor… If groups, as well as isolated individuals, sprang up everywhere, inspired by such a love of Christ for humanity, they would form ‘cells’ of a new ‘peace’ and ‘love’ in the Body of Humanity which would multiply by their very contagion of attractiveness wherever the faith of Christ was truly held and taught…

We each must take the next step forward from where we are. Perhaps this means opening your house to travelers. For someone else they may just need to smile at a beggar instead of scoffing or looking to the ground. Someone else may need to give up even a single coffee a week and use the money to help someone who needs it. Of course, from there we need to keep taking steps further and further along the path. Our pilgrimage will never end on this earth, but it almost always progresses one small step at a time.

Some things we as a community could stand to do starting today:

Reduce spending : Figure out where you are spending needlessly and stop. Use that money for someone who needs it.

More responsible spending : Avoid companies which exploit workers and needlessly destroy the environment. Ethically sourced coffee etc. Of course it’s probably impossible for most to completely switch over to ‘ethically sourced’ goods and it’s certainly impossible to know for certain what it took for the goods to reach you, but we can do the best we are able.

Work on your attitude : Behave with love and kindness, firmness when necessary but always in the pursuit of peace. Cultivating our love for people as well as the rest of creation. In each interaction with people that we have, be it face to face, on the internet or just sitting next to them on the bus, we must cultivate Christlike behavior in order to truly bear the image of God so all may see Him.

Engage in Community: All of this should be done in view of community. Sometimes we may be acting alone, but we are always part of the larger community. No one bear all burdens alone. I will not always use my money as wisely as I should. At times I will be grumpy to children of God. As an individual I am a poor representation of Christ, but as a community we can pull on the strengths of each of us and truly be Christ’s body.