Not long ago, someone told me, “Jerry, I appreciate your message but I’m just holding on until Jesus comes back and sets up His Kingdom.”
I get the sentiment. I’ve been there too, looking around at the brokenness of this world and thinking, Surely, the Kingdom must be somewhere else… Somewhere far off… and will eventually arrive… someday.
But Jesus didn’t teach a Kingdom that was far off. He proclaimed one that was already breaking in.
“The time is fulfilled,” He said, “and the Kingdom of God is at hand.” (Mark 1:15)
In other words, the Kingdom of God wasn’t a distant hope. It was already present… because the King had arrived.
Yet today, many Christians still treat the Kingdom like it’s on delay. Too often, we speak of it only in the future tense: something coming later, after death, or after Jesus returns. But Jesus never limited the Kingdom to “someday.” He described it as a new reality interrupting the old world… right here and right now.
“If I drive out demons by the finger of God, then the Kingdom of God has come upon you.” (Luke 11:20)
So why do we miss it?
Because many of us inherited a gospel that delays the Kingdom. It’s often reduced to sin management, afterlife assurance, or waiting for the rapture. But Jesus described the Kingdom as yeast working through dough (Matthew 13:33), a quietly growing seed (Mark 4:26–29), and a hidden treasure worth everything (Matt. 13:44).
All of those images point to something happening now, quietly but powerfully.
Yes, the Kingdom has a future dimension. After all, we still pray:
“Your Kingdom come, Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven” (Matthew 6:10)
But that prayer makes no sense unless something of the Kingdom is already breaking in. If the Kingdom were only future, Jesus wouldn’t have spent His earthly ministry announcing it, embodying it, and demonstrating it in real time.
The Kingdom breaks in wherever wrongs are made right, violence gives way to peace, the poor are lifted up, the forgotten are embraced, and enemies are loved.
But here’s the twist: sometimes we resist the Kingdom even while claiming to wait for it.
Think about it. Jesus was often criticized for actions that actually revealed the Kingdom: healing on the Sabbath, eating with “sinners,” and welcoming outsiders.
All of these actions angered religious leaders because they didn’t fit their preconceived notions of holiness.
Could we be doing the same?
Sometimes we miss the Kingdom because it doesn’t come with headlines. We’re watching for thrones and thunder, while the Kingdom shows up in a widow’s offering, a shared meal, or a word of forgiveness to an enemy.
In other words, the Kingdom of God isn’t passive waiting and it is certainly not mere talk as the Apostle Paul made abundantly clear:
“For the kingdom of God is not a matter of talk but of power.” (1 Corinthians 4:20)
When we ignore the Kingdom here and now, we risk perpetuating injustice, withholding mercy, and remaining indifferent to suffering. If Jesus calls us to embody Kingdom values now, postponing it is a fundamental misunderstanding of our mission.
Thankfully, His invitation still stands.
Let’s stop waiting for a Kingdom that’s already begun. Let’s seek it, live it, and embody it, here and now, knowing that what’s coming in fullness is already growing in seed form.
Because the real question isn’t when the Kingdom is coming.
Instead, the real question is whether we’ll recognize it—or reject it—when it’s already standing right in front of us.
Have a thought or question? Please feel free to share it below.
