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As I read the gospel accounts of Jesus' life and teachings, the concepts of the kingdom of heaven and doing the Father's will stand out as central themes. I am always trying to better understand what he was really trying to convey and how he intended for these teachings to be applied to daily life.
He was obviously aware that he had a real challenge on his hands trying to explain it, so he kept coming at it from all different angles. There are so many parables that begin "The kingdom of heaven is like..." A common theme is that it isn't dramatic or obvious: "...the smallest of all seeds...leaven hid in three measures of flour..treasure hidden in a field...a lost coin...a pearl of unrecognized value..." I suppose one reason why it so often goes unnoticed and unappreciated is that its sphere of operation makes it inaccessible to our usual powers of observation: "The kingdom of God does not come by looking for it, nor can you say 'See, here it is!' or 'Look! Over there!' For behold, the kingdom of God is within you." Not that it's immediately obvious exactly what that means or how to apply it, but at least it keeps us from looking in the wrong places.
Another common theme is that it doesn't seem fair: "...to him who has, more will be given, and from him who has not, even what he has will be taken away"... laborers who worked only an hour paid as much as those who toiled all day... a steward who earned five talents rewarded equally to one who earned ten... a net cast into the sea that gathered some of every kind... wedding guests gathered from the highways and byways... The point, I take it, is that the Father deals with each of His children on an individual basis, He doesn't necessarily judge everybody by the same outward standards, and entering the kingdom depends on having motives that are pure, not beliefs that are correct. "Not everyone who says to me 'Lord, Lord!' shall enter the kingdom, but he who does the will of my Father." Not that it's necessarily obvious exactly what that means or how to apply it, but at least it keeps us from asking the wrong questions.
Another key point I take from Jesus' teaching about the kingdom of heaven, is that it is "at hand". To me, this doesn't mean that the coming of the kingdom is a "world event" that is about to happen. It means that the spiritual world, including full communion with the Father, is accessible right now, in the present, for each person individually. It is freely available, readily attainable, unobstructed, close to home, nearby, not elsewhere in either time or space. Everything necessary for our full access has already been provided. Being willing to do the Father's will is the only requirement. Not that that makes it easy, but at least it shows us the cause of any delays.
When I pray "Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done, in earth as it is in heaven" I am asking for the spiritual and material realms to be brought into harmony so that the material world (starting with my physical body, and all the sensations, emotions and thoughts associated with it) responds appropriately and immediately to the needs of the Spirit at this particular time and place. Thus, the coming of the kingdom and the doing of the Father's will become an ongoing cycle of listening and acting; a process, not an event. That the Father has needs within the material world that can be satisfied only by my willing participation is indeed a mystery.
