What does the phrase "the Kingdom of God" mean to you? When I was growing up, I thought the Kingdom of God was Heaven. Years later, as a new Christian, I began to read my Bible and I discovered that the message of Jesus and the apostles was, "The Kingdom of God has come." But if the Kingdom of God has come, how could it be Heaven? Heaven exists eternally, so the phrase must mean something else. Today, let's listen to a short passage that might help us to understand the Kingdom a little better:

Jesus, grilled by the Pharisees on when the kingdom of God would come, answered, “The kingdom of God doesn’t come by counting the days on the calendar. Nor when someone says, ‘Look here!’ or, ‘There it is!’ And why? Because God’s kingdom is already among you.” (Luke 17:20-21 The Message)

I hope you like this translation as much as I do. I also like the way the New International Version translates verse 21: “The coming of the kingdom of God is not something that can be observed, nor will people say, ‘Here it is,’ or ‘There it is,’ because the kingdom of God is in your midst.” The Kingdom of God is in our midst. It's not a place. The Kingdom of God has a name and that Name is Jesus. That's right; Jesus is the Kingdom. The message of the Kingdom is that Jesus the Messiah has come.

He's come to save people from their sins. He's come to bring us a new way to live, a new life. He's come to bring hope to the hopeless and to bring healing to broken people in this broken world. The Kingdom of God is Jesus and He has come to redeem us...and that's such very Good News!