Reconciled by the Light: the after-death letters from a teen suicide.

“Now at one point the Pharisees asked Jesus when the kingdom of God  was coming, so he answered, ‘The kingdom of God is not coming with signs  to be observed, nor will people say, “Here it is,” or “There it is,” because the kingdom of God is within you.’” Luke 17:20-21

Some Biblical scholars will say that what Jesus meant was that because He, Jesus, was among them, the Kingdom of God was “in the midst”of them, which is an alternate translation of the Greek word “entos.”

But I’m going to talk about “the Kingdom of God is within you” from the viewpoint of the Kingdom of God being actually inside of you. So how exactly can the Kingdom of God be inside of you?

I like to say that the Kingdom of God is the place where God is King. Jesus was part of the Kingdom of God because God was the King, or center, of his life. God was the reference point from which Jesus defined who he was, what his purpose in life was, and the direction he decided to go in, in his life.

So, in my opinion, the Kingdom of God was within Jesus, because God was the King of Jesus’ life. We can do this as well. We can instantly become a part of the Kingdom of God by making God the center of our lives.

In explaining this I want to call attention to the actual meaning of the word Islam -- it means “submission.” A person who submits is a Muslim. Submits to what? -- to the will of God in his or her life.

I prefer the word “invitation” to the word “submission. ”From a Christian point of view, we are a part of the Kingdom of God when we invite God to become the guiding light of our life. God does not impose himself into our life, so to me the word submit has too strong a connotation, but we can invite God into our life.

Jesus said, “Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and will dine with him, and he with Me.” Revelation 3:20.

In the same way, God knocks on the door of our heart, and it’s our decision whether or not to invite him in.

The Kingdom of Heaven is built one soul at a time, spreading like the mustard seed or the leaven.

Inviting God to be the center of our life is not complicated at all. We can start by just using our imagination and talk to God; just imagine God can hear the words we say, spoken or unspoken, and ask him for guidance.

Then be still, and listen for God’s voice. He wants to speak to us through the agency of our own heart and mind.

Ask God to help us see with His eyes. Look at each person you come into contact the way you think God looks at him. “This is God’s son, God’s daughter.” Look with the eyes of love – of a parent towards a child.

Doing this little exercise can be a very profound, inspiring, and exciting experience. Imagine if every human being consciously tries to view everyone through God’s eyes. How can we hurt anyone if we view them this way?There’d be no more wars. Why, we might call a world like that the Kingdom of God on Earth.