The Lost Wallet

I have a friend who lost his wallet about a month ago. He announced the loss in church and asked for people’s help in finding it. The last time he remembered having his wallet was in church, when he took it out of his pocket to retrieve his offering.

So he searched under the pews and around the church building. It was nowhere to be found. He canceled his credit card to make sure that no unscrupulous person would use it. He worried about replacing everything in his wallet.

After a couple of weeks he found the wallet on his desk at home – exactly where he had placed it. When I saw him a few days later he exclaimed, “I found it!” He was happy, and I rejoiced with him. But the reality is that it was never really lost. But the loss felt real to him nonetheless and so did the finding.

The same is true of the Kingdom of God. It is right here - all around us and within us, just as Jesus said. “The Kingdom of God is within you (or in your midst).” That was Jesus’ gospel – his “good news.” He said “Repent (which means “to rethink, change your thinking, turn around and look in the opposite direction”), the Kingdom of God is at hand!” (Within arm’s reach, close enough to touch.)

As Deuteronomy 30 says (and quoted by the apostle Paul in Romans 10 as referring to the gospel) “It is not up in heaven, so that you have to ask, ‘Who will ascend into heaven to get it and proclaim it to us so we may obey it?’ Nor is it beyond the sea, so that you have to ask, ‘Who will cross the sea to get it and proclaim it to us so we may obey it?’ No, the word is very near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart.”

Yet Christian theologians have turned the gospel into its opposite – not good news. They said the Kingdom of God has been lost. Adam and Eve lost it for us long before we were born. Woe is us. To regain access to the Kingdom, God and humans need to navigate a series of theological and spiritual obstacles, involving lots of blood, sweat and tears.

It seems that we are contestants in a divine video game or cosmic obstacle course, such as the television shows American Ninja Warrior or Ultimate Beastmaster. Fortunately for us God is on our team and is really good at such games. (After all He is the Gamemaster and sets the rules!) All the while, preachers shout warnings to the contestants about the dangers of sin and the threat of hell.

If you want to play these theological and religious games, that is fine. I spent decades doing it. It is a long and winding road, and it is easy to get lost. Just make sure you persevere to the end, and not get sidetracked. As Jesus never tired of saying, “Many are called, but few are chosen.”

But there is a more direct path. The truth is that the Kingdom is not lost, unless we believe it is lost. Then the loss feels real, just like my friend felt the loss of his wallet. Then also the rediscovery feels real as well. But in truth it was never really lost. The Kingdom of God is at hand. The wallet is on the desk. Those who have eyes to see, let them see.