Kingdom : Way

The idea for a book came to me while gardening with my wife. As we weeded our plot in a sizable US city, I realized something: I'm not used to the agrarian lifestyle. I got to thinking about Jesus' parables, and how many of them involve 1st century farming tactics. How very different was the culture of his audience from my own.

I grew curious about how Jesus' parables representing the Kingdom of Heaven might effect us more potently if they were recast in modern situations. As cultures shift, languages get translated, and new technologies change the way we do things, the original historical context—an inherent obstacle to understanding—begs for reinterpretation.

Furthermore, it occurred to me that Jesus’ parables are taught using adult characters and situations; yet he said, “Let the children come to me, don’t stop them, for the Kingdom of Heaven belongs to such as these.” (Matthew 19:14) While I believe aspiring to Scripture is an important and humbling practice, it must be challenging for contemporary kids to see how these metaphors apply to their lives.

So, an idea got to itching and a journey commenced.

In considering the aim of the book, I struggled with using the word “kingdom” itself. Such a form of government is antiquated in today’s world, although fairytales keep it alive in young minds. My attempt to make the stories relevant to a child’s daily experience led me to experiment with a few alternative words to honor the essence of “kingdom”.

I tried:

  • "will"
  • "business"
  • "culture"
  • "system"

...but eventually I settled on what seemed the simplest: "way".

Jesus describes himself as The Way, and if we are to follow Jesus to enter the kingdom, then “way” is fitting.

I also appreciate that “way” is an active thing, the journey rather than the destination. “Kingdom” (in English, at least) has the ambiguous nature of being both a participatory, relational system and also a stationary, geographic entity. I think substituting the word “way” better emphasizes the former implication of “kingdom”.

As I was growing up, I got the impression of heaven as simply a destination rather than a culture to embody. If there is anything I hope to polish about my own theology, my understanding of the kingdom definitely makes the list. There’s hope for the kids.

Comments

  1. Keith CarpenterNovember 23, 2021 at 7:36 AM

    I love the idea of looking at the concept of kingdom through the lens of "way". I have always felt the terminology of kingdom was less of a system of lords and serfs and more of a positioning of living well and reflecting and pointing others to The Way as we live out Matt. 7:12, 22:38-39, and Luke 6:31. Loving God and Loving Others seems less of a way for masters and royalty dressed in fine linens over lording a vassal society dressed in rags at their feet and more like a positioning of the heart where all are brought to a unique position of realizing who we are before a loving God and who we are as we engage in our world.

    Looking forward to following the journey.

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