Well into the second mile of the hike, the rambling reflections of the son about purpose and mission led him to broach the subject of God’s kingdom and what a great purpose and compelling mission the kingdom is for anyone’s life. The father was quiet for a while. He seemed to be listening intently, but often when theological ideas arise, something gets lost in translation.
Apparently, that was the case here. When they started the third mile of the hike, the father shared what he heard when the “kingdom of God” was mentioned. For him, the kingdom of God was perhaps where his wife had gone, and where he might join her soon. So, it wasn’t particularly relevant to his daily life, much less his mission here and now.
“But the kingdom of God has nothing to do with the afterlife!” the son blurted out. This was an overstatement, but an understandable one. Equating “heaven” and the “kingdom of God” distorts so much of what is so important to God.
The “kingdom of God” is about God getting his way here and now, not just after people die. People get to partner with the God of the universe in his great kingdom purposes on earth! That is good news, a central part of the gospel. People get to be part of answering Jesus’ prayer, “Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven” (Matthew 6:10).