What's a KOG?

I was fortunate enough to take a class on the kingdom of God a number of years ago when I was at Bible College. As usual, I don't remember a great amount of detail about what we discussed or learned but I do remember that the concept of the kingdom of God was illusive and at times intangible. I also picked up that the answer to every question was Jesus. On one hand the kingdom cannot be summed up so simply, but I also think that at times, it can. Confused? You see? Illusive and intangible.

We are told to seek the kingdom of God as a first priority. If that is so important, then we probably should have thought about or at least have an idea of what the KOG is.

Luke 12:31
Seek the kingdom of God above all else...NLT
But seek His kingdom...NIV
Instead, go after the holy nation of God...NLV
Instead, strive for His kingdom...NRSV
But rather, seek ye the kingdom of God...KJV
But seek the Malchut Hashem...OJV

...and He will give you everything you need. NLT

I think of the random bunch of followers that Jesus had at that time. Most were not 'rich and powerful' and they had very little influence over the powers of the day. As a group, they were about to embark on a world changing mission, fail, lose their leader, get him back again a couple of days later, watch Him leave in the most extraordinary fashion and receive His Spirit to empower them for the task ahead. They were fully committed to Jesus and His new kingdom (although they didn't quite understand it), they had no idea what lay ahead but they knew if they went after the KOG then God would take care of the rest.

So, when I think of the KOG I think of Jesus, His life, death and resurrection. I think about how He spent time with the poor, the sick, the outcast and the lonely and gave them something to eat, healed them, restored them to community and connected with them. His mission was not just about physical, or spiritual, or social needs, but it was about the whole person. He initiated a brand new kingdom right in front of people as he challenged the powerful by caring for the least of these. He undermined authority structures through showing people what God saw as important in life. He stated this mission early on in his 'ministry career' when He read the Scripture from Isaiah (Luke 4:17-21), He was here to rescue the poor, captives, blind and oppressed.

One thing that I notice in this, is that whilst Jesus did spend time with the poor and oppressed, His view of a person did not change depending on whether they were rich or poor, Jewish or Roman. He saw people as His Father saw people, and how He still sees them today. As His created beings, in need of rescue. That is the transformational aspect of the KOG - all people, no matter where they were born, what colour skin they have, how much they are worth, what kind of lineage they have, are of equal value and are equally helpless to rescue themselves from their own sinfulness. So, for us to have a KOG or 'Jesus' response to the poor is to respond to their equal significance, to see ourselves in them. The problem that we have with this, according to Dallas Willard is not "...with how we see the poor, but with how we see ourselves. If we still think and convey by our behaviour that in some way we are fundamentally different and better as persons from a man sleeping in the discarded boxes in the alley, we have not been brought with clear eyes to the foot of the cross, seeing our own neediness in the light of it" (The Spirit of the Disciplines p211).

So, Jesus came to rescue the poor, captives, blind and oppressed. It turns out that is me. And you by the way. And the guy sitting next to you, that weird couple down the road, the homeless guy you might walk past on occasion and every single one of the hundreds of millions of people living in extreme poverty across the world. (Plus everyone else).

As people, if we are all equal, then we are all of equal value and importance and we each deserve the opportunity to reach our capacity, which, I believe, has a great deal to do with being connected with our Creator. How do we do that? Well, we seek the KOG above all else, which looks a lot like what Jesus did. Meeting the needs of the whole person. Giving them a hand up, not a hand out. But it is not striving for the sake of trying to do something good. You can't force it to happen, you can't force yourself to seek the kingdom, it is a response. We can only seek the kingdom as a response to the work of God in us, because he sought us first. How we choose to respond is up to us, but it's as simple as asking God what He would have us do. Careful though, it is a dangerous question to ask because God always has something ready for us and usually I find that it is something that He has put on our heart before or even prompted us to do which we haven't done yet. Whatever it is, it is important to remember that Jesus never sent money, or other forms of delegated help...He was the help. He got His hands dirty when He came down to us. Filthy, in fact. It cost Him dearly.

I like the way that Jesus reminds His followers about the fact that they are not in it alone in this and that God is for them...

"So don't be afraid little flock. For it gives your Father great happiness to give you the Kingdom." Luke 12:32.