Oswald Chambers said: “Sometimes it looks like God is missing the mark because we’re too short-sighted to see what He’s aiming for.”

Have you ever thought that God is missing the mark? Well, as Chambers suggests, perhaps we’re just not thinking big enough. 

Even as Christians we can compartmentalize certain biblical ideas. Let’s call it too-small-ism. One of them is about the kingdom of God.

In Mark 1:15 Jesus exclaims: “The time has come. The kingdom of God has come near. Repent and believe the good news!” 

But have you ever wondered what the “kingdom of God” entails? 

A popular answer is that it’s heaven, or that it’s wherever love is shown. But we need to think bigger. 

A variety of biblical texts (especially in Isaiah and the Gospels), speak about the good news of a coming King and the benefits he will bring to his people. Here are some of them:

-The King will re-establish his throne in Jerusalem
-The King will triumph over the powers of darkness
-The King will proclaim the year of the Lord’s favour and the day of God’s vengeance
-The King will proclaim liberty to the captives and open the prison to those who are bound
-The King will bring good news to the poor and bind up the broken-hearted
-The King will offer forgiveness from sin and peace with God
-The King will reward his people and tend his flock like a shepherd
-The King will make all things new in his dominion

No wonder the kingdom of God is such good news! 

If you think God’s kingdom deserves a shoulder shrug, or that King Jesus can be conveniently sidelined as you pursue something “better,” you are probably suffering from too-small-ism.

The world can get us down. We can get confused about what God is (or isn’t) doing. It often feels like our hope needs C.P.R. 

If that’s the case, let’s bring the true nature of God’s kingdom back into focus, think bigger, and re-commit ourselves as his foot soldiers of grace and truth.

“Sometimes it looks like God is missing the mark because we’re too short-sighted to see what He’s aiming for.”

---

Notes:

–“Think bigger.” Part 1 in a new teaching series on Mark. September 8, 2024. Click here.

–Bible quotes are from the NIV.