From the perspective of someone sitting in the pew, one could say that the universal message that comes across these days is the need to be good and to do good things. That is – to be a good person. In doing so, we will be able to attain the prize of going to heaven.  As I evaluate the various places I travel too, that message appears to be the goal or vision placed before the eyes of the people.  I don’t want to say this message is wrong or bad because we do need to be good (obey God’s commands) and do good things (take care of others).  However, are we missing the mark in the vision?

We continue to speak of heaven, or more accurately the kingdom of God, as a place we are trying to get into AFTER we die. Yet, didn’t Jesus proclaim in Mark 1:15 that the Kingdom of God has come?

“The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God has come near; repent, and believe in the good news.” NRSV

If the Kingdom of God has come with Christ, then why are we living like it hasn’t come and we are trying to get into it? What are we really striving for in our lives? Are we striving for things on earth or for the Kingdom of God? In Matthew 6:33, Jesus commands us to “strive FIRST for the Kingdom of God and His righteousness…”NRSV So if the kingdom is already here, then we are meant to focus on living in God’s will now and entrusting our physical lives and needs to His provision.

So what does it mean to live in God’s Kingdom or Will now?

The Catholic Church provides us some powerful examples of striving to live in God’s Kingdom or Will by showing us the lives of the Martyrs. The Bible also gives us examples of men and women who lived love so fully that they gave everything to God, including their physical lives. Why? They believed that they were following the example of Jesus who showed us how to love by the complete gift of self for others.  Can we say we are now living for Christ and others or still for ourselves?

In 2 Maccabees 7, we have the amazing example of the seven sons and their mother who died in martyrdom because they chose not to defile themselves by eating pork, as commanded by the king. They were striving for the kingdom of God because they believed and gave testimony that they may lose their life now, but regain it after death.

In verse 40, referring to the youngest Brother, it says: “So he died in his integrity, putting his whole trust in the Lord.”

They all lived out the three things that St. Paul said remain in 1 Corinthians 13:13. Three things remain:

They had real FAITH in the Lord.

They HOPED that what God promised to those who hold on to his truth would come true.

Their LOVE for God was so complete that it cast out all fear, even fear of death.

I believe that we who are tasked with preaching, teaching and evangelizing must refocus the vision for our faithful back onto the Kingdom of God that has come and is here now. We must help them gain an understanding that through Baptism we must give ourselves completely to Jesus and entrust everything to Him. Our focus in this world can’t be on our own kingdoms, but on forwarding God’s Kingdom in this broken world, held captive by pride, rebellion and sin.

We must speak to our communities about the real consequences that are coming for those who strive to live according to their own wills and have no real desire to give God complete control of their humanities. This means we must confront this cancel culture of death and all their false teachings that are contrary to the teaching of Christ. We must become the light that is placed on the lamp stand so all can see the truth.

We must be willing to give whatever God asks of us in the endeavor of helping His lost children find their way home to Him. Our work on earth is not to financially secure our families in comfort, but to build God’s Kingdom on earth. Yes, that can mean donating money to build Churches and ministry, but it more accurately means promoting God’s good news to everyone God places in our path. If we do this, we will (as Jesus promised) suffer the persecution of rejection, losing our jobs, wealth, homes, families and even our lives.

Let us not be compromised by the fear that would keep us silent. Let us rejoice in the knowledge that even though we still live in this sinful world, compromised by our own sin, we who remain faithful, humble and repentant live in the life of the Holy Spirit. Let us rise in the Power of the Holy Spirit and exist in the spiritual Kingdom of God on earth now.