“The kingdom of heaven is at hand” (Matthew 10:7).
This is the message every disciple of Christ, in every age, is meant to carry into the world, to every person encountered.
‘Kingdom’ here does not refer to a place.Rather, it is the announcement of God’s active relationship with the world, presently bringing the world to life, healing, reconciliation and fruitfulness.The kingdom is God’s reigning presence acting through the lives of Christ’s disciples and pulsating through the energies of the universe.
This announcement is the antithesis to the modern scientific ideology (notice, I do not say the antithesis to science).Scientific ideology declares that the world rules itself, all the world’s energy and movement is internally explainable, discoverable within the system closed in on itself.
The kingdom of heaven is at hand.The system, our world, is not closed to God.God is actively involved in the whole of the created order, overcoming forces of destruction, violence, and hatred, bringing life and communion.The kingdom of heaven is at hand.God is alive.God is present to us.God can be trusted to give life, even life out of our brokenness and death.