The Kingdom is to be in the midst of your enemies. And he who will not suffer this does not want to be of the Kingdom of Christ; he wants to be among friends, to sit among roses and lilies, not with the bad people but the devout people. O you blasphemers and betrayers of Christ! If Christ had done what you are doing who would ever have been spared? –Martin Luther
Actually that’s a Dietrich Bonhoeffer paraphrase of Luther. The original comes from Luther’s lengthy exposition of Psalm 110. Christ has chosen to rule in spite of his enemies. He doesn’t wait for permission to rule. He doesn’t wait before he has a consensus to lead us. He takes the initiative to do what is best for His bride. And that’s what Luther is pointing to in this quote. I think it’s a lesson for leaders.
We aren’t the Messiah. Psalm 110 isn’t ultimately about our reigning it is about the reign of Christ. But I think Luther (and Bonhoeffer) are correct that our commission is not “in the seclusion of a cloistered life”. No our commission is “in the thick of foes”. Yes, even in your local church. We will need to lead in the midst of our enemies.
The point which Bonhoeffer—through Luther—is making here is that we don’t get to decide when and where God’s kingdom is to be set up through us. It’s not as if the kingdom is a packed up tent which we lug around and only unfold once we’ve found suitable terrain. We don’t get to pick where we find the kingdom, we simply get to rejoice and minister where the community of Christ is to be found.
You’ve likely heard it said that ministry would be great if it wasn’t for the people. I wonder if Christ would say that the incarnation would have been great if it hadn’t been for the people. That’s not the way of the kingdom. The kingdom can never be set up among friends because apart from the Kingdoms presence there is no such thing as a friend. Christ had to set up His kingdom among enemies because we’ve all fallen short of the glory of God. If he had waited to set up His kingdom on friendly ground he’d never have unpacked that tent from off his shoulders.
So let us take heart and follow Christ. Let us love people where they are and bring the kingdom wherever we happen to be.
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