Why do we name ourselves? Why is it when a group of people get together the first thing they want to do is come up with a name for the group? Those who follow Jesus seem to rush to do this. A group of Jesus followers begins to met together and the first thing we ask is, what do we call ourselves? How will we be identified? How will people recongnize us? I've begun to wonder why we do that. It's so easy to view people as "in" and "out" if we have a name to attach to it. Our names end up being the way people define who we are. What names we attach ourselves too, seem to be an attempt to protect ourselves from what ever might cause us harm. As soon as a group is named, they separate themselves from the very ones they are trying to reach. They become "in" and all others become "out". Doesn't that seem a bit counter productive?
Luke 17:20,21 - Once the Pharisees asked Jesus when God's kingdom would come. He replied, "The coming of God's kingdom is not something you can see just by watching for it carefully. People will not say, 'Here it is.' Or, 'There it is.' God's kingdom is among you."
If what Jesus says is true then God's kingdom in my neighborhood is not going to be as tangable as a group of people who have gathered around a name. God's kingdom first of all is. Period. I can't say, "Oh look, they're doing God's kingdom". Or "You know those people down at the First Street Church of God's Kingdom, really have this kingdom thing down." Yet isn't that just what we do? Don't we rally around a name and say, "Look, here is the kingdom, come see it!"
I think it's time we started looking at things differently. Let's stop looking at names and start looking at the reality of what the kingdom is. If God's kingdom really is among us, then when does it express itself? I'm thankful that Jesus answered that question for us. Matthew 18:20 (NLT) "I also tell you this: If two of you agree down here on earth concerning anything you ask, my Father in heaven will do it for you. For where two or three gather together because they are mine (in my name), I am there among them." Does not the presence of Jesus mean we're living in the kingdom? So anytime I sit for coffee with a brother or a sister I'm doing the kingdom. Anytime I share a meal with a brother or a sister, I'm doing the kingdom. Anytime I see a concert, talk about a book, share a ballgame, visit a park, play euchre, fish, ride motorcycles, watch kids play, with a brother or a sister, I'm doing the kingdom.
It seems to me that the kingdom of God is not about names or carefully constructed boundaries, theological or physical. Seems to me the kingdom of God is Jesus. If Jesus is here, then we are the kingdom of God. When I start from that point, it changes my whole perspective on how I do life.
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