I think we sometimes get so busy trying to create heaven on earth we forget to build God’s Kingdom on earth. There is a difference between building a life full of comfort, security, and excess and building the Kingdom of God. When I look around my country and see the lives of Christians looking no different from those who have rejected Jesus, I can’t help but feel we’ve misunderstood the point.
Building God’s Kingdom has nothing to do with Kingdom building in the traditional sense. We build the Kingdom of God by sacrificing the very things we would use to build our own kingdoms. When you look at your own life, does the evidence point to building the Kingdom of God or the Kingdom of you?
One of the things we’ve gotten so wrong is we’ve mistakenly identified this world as our home. This has never been the case, and it became even less true the moment we accepted Christ as our Savior and Lord. While the Church continues to contract in Western nations, we’ve seen an explosion of Church growth in third-world countries. Perhaps third-world countries long for heaven more because they don’t live in a context allowing them to consider Earth heaven. Meanwhile, we’ve amassed so much comfort and ease we might be just as happy to stay here as to go on to Heaven.
Building God’s Kingdom should be the goal of each of our lives. To build God’s Kingdom is to further the mission Jesus began when He came to earth as a man. It is our job to carry on His mission. We are the ambassadors of Christ, commissioned to share His gospel throughout the entire world. It has never been our place to amass wealth, secure comfort, or find happiness. If our lives are about anything other than Jesus, we have missed the point and our purpose for living is without hope.
Life with Jesus will be amazing, but we don’t have to wait until Heaven to begin experiencing it. The Spirit of Christ lives inside each of His followers. If we are His disciples, Jesus lives in us. Life with Jesus began the moment you gave your life to Him. We have life with Jesus right here and right now. We don’t have to wait. Knowing this, knowing Jesus is with us, why would we do anything but build His Kingdom?
How are you doing building God’s Kingdom? Are you making more progress on His Kingdom or on your own? It’s so tempting to create a life like that of our co-workers and neighbors. Satan has cleverly infiltrated Hollywood and the media to sell us a solution to the wrong problem. Our problem is not a lack of comfort, security, and ease. Our problem is a sinful nature destined to separate us from God forever unless we repent and turn to Jesus for our salvation. Building God’s Kingdom is not optional for followers of Christ; it is proof we are following Him. Before you put one more penny into building your heaven on earth, remember our job is to bring God’s Heaven to earth.