Tucked away in the middle of a speech that Jesus gave about his cousin, John the Baptist, is a verse that has inspired some, and confused many. Take a peek at how various translations have rendered it, and you’ll begin to see why:
“And from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven has been treated violently, and violent men take it by force.” (Matthew 11:12 NASB)
“From the days of John the Baptist until now, the kingdom of heaven has been subjected to violence, and violent people have been raiding it.” (Matthew 11:12 NIV)
“From the days of John the Baptist until now, the kingdom of heaven has been suffering violence, and the violent have been seizing it by force.” (Matthew 11:12 CSB)
“From the moment John stepped onto the scene until now, the realm of heaven’s kingdom is bursting forth, and passionate people have taken hold of its power.” (Matthew 11:12 TPT)
“And from the time John the Baptist began preaching until now, the Kingdom of Heaven has been forcefully advancing, and violent people are attacking it.” (Matthew 11:12 NLT)
Is the Kingdom violent? Are Jesus followers supposed to be militant? Are we being attacked or are we supposed to attack? What about loving our neighbors? Our enemies?
All good questions that I don’t have good answers for, and yet I think they all tend to miss this one point: the Kingdom advances intentionally.
As followers of Jesus, there isn’t really a neutral. He said we’re either for Him or against Him; we’re gathering or scattering. May I add to that? We’re either shifting or we’re drifting.
I believe that when Jesus called us salt and light, He intended for us to shift atmospheres and cultures. The light shines in the darkness and the darkness cannot overcome it or understand it (John 1:5). That means that His light through us influences the darkness.
But only if we’re actively, or — as Jesus said in that confusing verse — forcefully advancing. Being intentional about where our light shines. Making sure that our light isn’t hidden under a bushel, NO!
Because if we aren’t intentionally shifting, we’ll find ourselves unintentionally drifting.
If we aren’t intentionally shifting, we’ll find ourselves unintentionally drifting. Click To TweetFarther from the places and the people He sent us to.
Farther from the mission and the mandate He called us to.
If this global pandemic has taught us nothing else, it is this: shifting takes effort and energy, and when we aren’t able to give either, drifting is the unintended consequence.
The good news is that an unintentional drift can be stopped with an intentional shift back into gear. Maybe you need to push the cloth in and shift out of neutral. May I encourage you to do it sooner rather than later? There is a kingdom advancing, and you have a part to play in it.
Shift out of the drift, and get back in the race.
