Kingdom Vision

Have you ever walked outside on a moonless night and tried to see where you were going? It took a while for your eyes to become accustomed to the natural ambient light before you could really see well enough to move around safely. Similarly once you have used a flashlight outside at night, your vision is limited to only what the artificial light was illuminating. If you turn the flashlight off, you have lost your ability to see with the ambient light and your eyes must grow accustomed once again to operating in the natural light. How similar these circumstances are to our ability to see the Kingdom of God. We often use the term light to describe the Kingdom and Jesus Himself. Today however I want to focus on our spiritual eyes and not the source of the light.

Luke 17: 20-21 One day the Pharisees asked Jesus, "When will the kingdom of God come?" Jesus replied, "The kingdom of God can't be detected by visible signs. You won't be able to say, "Here it is!" or It's over there!" For the kingdom of God is already among you." Jesus realized that the Pharisees were looking for earthly signs of the kingdom - royalty, power, wealth. His warning went unheeded because they were unable to grasp the truth. The kingdom of God is not one of earthly power and stature, although we all know that there is indeed great power in the kingdom. In fact the kingdom was right there in their midst but they could neither see it nor experience it. This is true today.

In every one of the gospels there is reference to those that have eyes to see and ears to hear. Ephesians 1:18 I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints. It is indeed the eyes of our heart that provide the ability to see the kingdom of God, not the physical eyes in our head. Is it any wonder that unbelievers around us do not see what we see? The eyes of their hearts have yet to be given sight. They are being blinded by the "lights" of earthly existence. The glamorous neon lights of life being lived large prevent them from seeing anything except that upon which the enemy shines his artificial light. Yet the kingdom is there right in front of them. So how does that impact us?

We live in a fallen world; of that there is no debate. We love the Lord and seek to serve Him, love Him, worship Him. But how many of us have been caught off guard by a "bright artificial light" shining directly in front of us, even right into our eyes? Let's look at a couple of examples.... Parenting - your teenager wants very much to go to a party this weekend. You are unsure of the youth that is hosting the party and you know nothing about the parents, but your son/daughter is standing in front of you pleading and simultaneously throwing out to you all of the usual excuses finally pulling the ringer out - "What you are saying, Mom/Dad, is that you do not trust me, you do not trust that you have done a good job in raising me." Arrow shot and struck! You are blinded now by the bright light of feeling inadequate and your self esteem is sliding downhill fast. You are unable to steel yourself to confront your child with the truth that it has nothing to do with him/her, it is about making good choices and avoiding compromising situations. After all you want your child to like you, right??? Wrong - but that is a different discussion.

Being part of the kingdom of God is not about what makes us feel good. It is about what honors God. Here's another circumstance - you've gathered with your co-workers and decided to go to a movie together then grab a bite to eat afterward. You have sat home for too many weekends and this sounds just wonderful. The discussion about what movie to see begins. Quickly you perceive that the movie choice is not one you would ever make on your own, but are you going to confront your co-workers with your principles and say, "Sorry, that is not a movie that I will go see. Let's find a movie that all of us can enjoy."? Or will you just go along with the crowd and endure a movie that offends you? After all it is better than staying home again, isn't it? Wrong again.

Understand that having kingdom vision means that you will keep your eyes guarded from those artificial lights. They can come from any direction and catch you off guard. A promotion that will interfere with your ministry work. A social circle that will compromise your values just a little bit at a time until you suddenly realize that you are far from the kingdom and are struggling to return. Desiring a new car when the debt will decrease your ability to support the Lord's work. Exceeding your monthly income by excessive spending on conveniences like eating out all the time because it takes too much effort to eat at home or to fix the old "whatever" to make do and thus stay within the budget. When we are distracted by the lights of this world, we will lose our kingdom vision, making it much harder to see the things that God is trying to show us.

1 John 2:16 For everything in the world - the cravings of sinful man, the lust of his eyes and the boasting of what he has and does - comes not from the Father but from the world. The world and its desires pass away, but the man who does the will of God lives forever. We are forewarned that the desires of this world can cause huge problems for man while he is on this earth. We will never be freed from temptation - Jesus Himself was tempted by the enemy during His 40 days in the desert. If Jesus had to suffer through temptations why would we think we are exempt? We are not. The enemy will be shining those artificial lights in our eyes seeking to blind us from the true kingdom vision that is ours once we accept Jesus as our Savior. Discipline is required to not fall prey to following those bright lights. Discipline in walking in our faith. Guard your spiritual eyes and do not dwell on that which is of this world. Keep your eyes on the kingdom light - the true light which will guide you to your eternal home with the Lord.