Kingdom Time
Who do you think you will meet in heaven?
When he entered the temple, the chief priests and the elders of the people came to him as he was teaching, and said, "By what authority are you doing these things, and who gave you this authority?" Jesus said to them, "I will also ask you one question; if you tell me the answer, then I will also tell you by what authority I do these things. Did the baptism of John come from heaven, or was it of human origin?" And they argued with one another, "If we say, 'From heaven,' he will say to us, 'Why then did you not believe him?' But if we say, 'Of human origin,' we are afraid of the crowd; for all regard John as a prophet." So they answered Jesus, "We do not know." And he said to them, "Neither will I tell you by what authority I am doing these things. "What do you think? A man had two sons; he went to the first and said, 'Son, go and work in the vineyard today.' He answered, 'I will not'; but later he changed his mind and went. The father went to the second and said the same; and he answered, 'I go, sir'; but he did not go. Which of the two did the will of his father?" They said, "The first." Jesus said to them, "Truly I tell you, the tax collectors and the prostitutes are going into the kingdom of God ahead of you. For John came to you in the way of righteousness and you did not believe him, but the tax collectors and the prostitutes believed him; and even after you saw it, you did not change your minds and believe him. - Matthew 21:23-32
When Jesus tells those challenging him that tax collectors and prostitutes will be in the kingdom before them, it must have angered them.
How could such sinners make it to the kingdom?
I wonder if that is the wrong question. What if everyone can make it in?
Jesus doesn't say the chief priests and elders won't get in. He says the others will be first, before them.
And I don't think he is talking about heaven. I think he is talking about being a part of God's Kingdom, here, on earth, now.
Imagine the surprise when you get to heaven. First, we will be surprised that we made it, but then we may be surprised to find out who else is there.
If everyone gets there, it will be because Jesus came to redeem us all.
Wait, what?
How can everyone be there?
Isn't there a price to be paid for sinning?
The right answer should be yes, but Jesus said he came for the sinners, and we are all sinners to some extent, right?
So, the surprise shouldn't be that we all wind up in God's kingdom. The final destination could be the same for all of us.
The difference is how we live now. How long will it take us to enjoy the beauty and majesty of the Kingdom God has planned for us?
I think the goal is to enter it now, and live in it.
More to come...