The incompleteness of the Kingdom

Matthew 8:11 - I say to you that many will come from the east and the west, and will take their places at the feast with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven.

This week we have taken a look at different ways the Kingdom of God is present now. Let’s not forget that while this Kingdom has been established, it is not yet completed. Even though it is here, we can still look forward to a completed Kingdom in the future.

The fact that the Kingdom is here doesn’t change the reality that there is hurt and suffering still happening in the world. We can see it every day, and it may feel like these things shouldn’t be here if the Kingdom is also here. It’s messed up. It doesn’t feel right. That’s all true, but there is hope. There is hope that when Jesus comes back and the Kingdom of God is fully completed, this hurt and suffering will be gone.

This means we have to hold onto the Kingdom of God two different ways. We hold to the Kingdom in the now. We keep our eyes peeled for the Kingdom in the ordinary things in life. It’s in the meals with friends. It’s in customers at work. It’s in the traffic-jammed freeway. We also have to hold the finished Kingdom of the future. It will be completed. It will be the renewal of all things, in which sin and suffering are abolished. It is our hope.

Are you clinging to the incompleteness of the Kingdom that has been established? Or are you only hanging on to the hope of the completed Kingdom of the future? Spend a few minutes in prayer with God today and ask for Him to show you how you might hold both aspects of His Kingdom in your own life. Keep your eyes open to how God is showing you the hope of the completed kingdom, yet calling you to action in the current one.