By Rachel Labs - Class of 2024
In our seminary class last week we talked about the role Christians have in culture to bring God’s kingdom to earth. In our book To Change the World, by James Davison Hunter, it explains the author’s opinion as to how cultures change: from the top down. Institutional power comes from the social networks of elite groups of people who have the credibility and power to create change. It has been interesting to learn about the disproportionate cultural power institutions have. For example, consider someone who went to Harvard versus someone who went to Grove City College. Both colleges would give you a quality education but the network of people you acquire going to an Ivy League provides a leg up in society.
However, in tandem with that, what is also true is that the kingdom of God is within our individual beings, not in our institutions. Luke 17: 20-21 says, “Jesus replied, “The kingdom of God does not come with your careful observation, nor will people say, ‘Here it is’ or ‘There it is,’ because the kingdom of God is within you.” Jesus is telling us that the Holy Spirit is at work in us to bring the kingdom of God to earth now. Our power as Christians comes from letting Jesus infiltrate our hearts so that we can be ambassadors for Him in our jobs, families, churches and institutions.
As I strive to care for the nation and grow in my awareness of the political complexity that never ends, I also want to keep looking at the complexity of my own heart. As we submit our own wills to God, and humbly lay down our sins to him, we can be the change. I can work on my tendency for comparison and jealousy, or the ways I pridefully judge others. I should first look inward when thinking of bringing the kingdom of God to earth, since the kingdom of God is in me, and you. Our ultimate hope is not in institutions, but in Jesus; Jesus who wants to work through us.