My church has these groups called missional community groups that are made up of people from the same geographical neighborhood who are interested in doing things together in order to serve their immediate community. The groups are pretty autonomous, and each one has its own projects and agendas (which is the point), but every once in awhile the church trickles down some curriculum that they’d like each group to discuss. Recently we were given a handout on the topic of the person of peace (which is probably a whole post in its own right) that included an exercise to draw what you picture the kingdom of God looking like.
Normally I hate drawing prompts. I would just as soon tell you in words, and in fact could probably do a much more detailed job in that manner! (This is why I’m a blogger.) But I had fun with this thought exercise. Here’s what I drew:
Everyone is happy (even the sun, apparently!) and gets along, and there are no more tears. (That’s always been one of my favorite verses in the Bible about the kingdom: “He will wipe every tear from their eyes.”) There’s a table full of really good food that I’m sure gets replenished frequently, and there is music and singing all the time. There are infinite books and nice places to read them. And God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit are up there hanging out with us.
Now, obviously, this is not literal, nor is it theologically correct. But it was fun to think about some of the nice things in this world that I imagine would only be magnified in the next. I have no idea what the infinite kingdom of God will be like, and I honestly don’t think about it that much. But perhaps the most beautiful part of all of it to me is in thinking about how we can bring this kingdom about here. Because the Bible tells us that’s our call. Sure, there are parts of eternity that simply can’t be fulfilled on this broken earth with broken people leading the charge. But the calls to love, give, and serve radically can happen now. I can do it. You can do it. And that small piece of heaven is the real representation of God’s kingdom.
How do you picture the kingdom of God?
