20 Once, having been asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, Jesus replied, “The kingdom of God does not come with your careful observation, 21 nor will people say, ‘Here it is,’ or ‘There it is,’ because the kingdom of God is within you.”
God’s work is not an external work. He is not interested in building a new and improved society. He doesn’t want a political party to support Him. He isn’t planning a coup in order to do things in a Godly way here on earth. He has much larger plans. He wants to change individual hearts and lives. This is a task of much larger proportions than simply establishing some island country where His Laws are enforced from the outside in. He wants to change individuals from the inside out and allow them to remain in a corrupt and degenerate society acting as salt and light. That is much more powerful than setting up some new state or country. That God would change us and keep us in the middle of the societies that we live is much more difficult. To live on some island with others who believe as we believe is easy. How many disagreements can there be with others just like you? But with the neighbors you have now, that is much harder. The much bigger project is the one God has chosen. God chose to make hundreds of millions of small islands in the middle of a sea of rebellion. We connect together at times and exchange His goods, but we all must be surrounded by others who don’t share our values and worldview. They get to see the Kingdom of God up close when they see us. We are not some distant country that can be ignored by changing the channel or media neglect. We are right there in the grocery line with them. We sit next to them in the doctor’s office. Our cars are broken down at the side of the road as they pass by. We go to the same sporting events and our kids sing in the chorus together. Sometimes our kids get put in suspension while theirs are on the honor roll. You see it is much harder for the Lord to demonstrate His love through people like us than through some earthly kingdom, and yet that is exactly what He does.
The Arnold Journey 