All historians agree that the basic theme of Jesus’ teaching was what he called the ‘kingdom of God.’ It sounds airy fairy, but it’s far from it. Jews in Jesus’ day believed that God would one day right the wrongs of history. He would establish justice on the earth and prove himself King, and they called that the ‘kingdom of God.’ It wasn’t so much about going to heaven, it was really about heaven coming to earth to put things right.
Isaiah 52:7-8
[That’s called the Psalms of Solomon, Chapter 17]
[Matthew Chapter 6]
Jesus believed in the same kingdom of God that was promised in the scriptures of Israel. He believed God would do something about the mess in the world, and he would prove himself King over everything. But he taught that this rule of God was marked by humility, like that of a child. The future kingdom is going to bring peace, and so Christians, those who belong to the kingdom, are to get busy being peacemakers. The kingdom will be a kingdom of love. And so Christians get busy practising love in anticipation of the kingdom. That’s the meaning of the prayer “your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.”
The only Christian nationalism that Jesus taught, and Augustine after him, was not a worldly, cultural, political one, where Christians get to call the shots. But one where the nation is filled with Christians willing to serve, suffer, and love in anticipation of the coming kingdom of love.
By John Dickson
Cultural Christianity
Want to hear the rest of the episode?
Check out episode 112: “Cultural Christianity”
