the blog
Red or Blue Pill?
by Sherwin Schwartzrock
August 13, 2009 | Theology | 9 responses
Growing up in a very strict and legalistic church, we were taught that the really big event of human history would be Christ’s second coming when Jesus would usher in the Kingdom of God. Until then, society would grow increasingly worse. We righteous believers simply needed to wait it out, so to speak, surviving under Satan’s tyranny here on Earth.
Over the years I’ve come to realize that the true watershed event in human history happened on the cross. The big battle of good versus evil isn’t at Armageddon, but rather at Golgotha. Once Jesus was resurrected and returned to Heaven, God glorified him as King of Kings and received ALL authority in Heaven and Earth. Satan has lost the battle but still makes a defiant attempt to hide that fact from us. Which leads me to believe the Kingdom of God exists NOW!
With that in mind, I’m fascinated by the concept of the Kingdom of God but confused as to how I might enter it. Jesus piques our curiosity when he constantly alludes to it by saying, “The Kingdom of God is like… .” With multiple allegories of the Kingdom, he tries to illuminate it for us… and then says this kingdom is “within reach” or possibly translated “within you” or “in your midst”. Jesus continues to frustrate me when he heals people, feeds thousands with a single sack lunch and restores dead people to life… and then tells me I will do greater things than he did. Paul tried to help us understand the Kingdom of God when he compared it to the story of Israel leaving Egypt. He equates Egypt with our lives in the world, and the Promised Land as our lives in the Kingdom of God. He also tries to explain it by describing life outside the Kingdom as “living by the flesh” and life inside the Kingdom as “living by the Spirit.” James provides further insight on the Kingdom when he says that if we love the world we become enemies of God (and thus, not citizens of the Kingdom).
I don’t know about you, but I’ve wrestled with how to make sense of this. I don’t see Jesus-like miracles in my life. So instead, I’ve found excuses why these promises aren’t accessible today. And where is this promised transformation into the likeness of Christ? My life resembles “flesh” more than the “Spirit.” Let’s be brutally honest, I love the things of the world. I love sleek cars, nice clothes and people who say I’m talented. I want to look and feel successful by worldly standards.
Ironically but not surprisingly, this pursuit of happiness isn’t satisfying me enough lately… and it really scares me to be called an enemy of God. Lately I’ve wanted more… something REALLY real. Salvation isn’t enough anymore. I want to live inside the Kingdom.
Thankfully, God showed me another visual for it, one I can relate to more easily. It looks a lot like the pagan Hollywood movie, The Matrix. The metaphor is amazingly true to what scripture seems to say about the Kingdom of God. I won’t take the time to point out all of the comparisons, but the gist is this: the Kingdom of God on Earth doesn’t look like Heaven. It looks like a war zone. Just like Neo, our mustard seed faith allows God to stretch the rules of this environment, freeing us to do great things when we are fighting for the Kingdom. “Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done, on Earth as it is in Heaven.” The point is for us to wake others from the Matrix’s trance and bring the Kingdom to Earth! And like the disciples, we can die in the effort.
I identify with the movie’s character Cypher. He’s knows the Matrix is a lie, but it is oh so comfortable. The Matrix’s juicy steak won’t satisfy, but it sure tastes good for the moment. He just wants to be plugged back in because the reality of the Kingdom is too difficult. The serpent in the Garden of Eden stole Adam’s power with a lie, and he’s continuing to do so today. I’m wondering whether all Christians in America are like me, saved but content to trade the Devil our authority in return for his comfortable lie. I’ve believed the lie, that affluence and power brings happiness.
So, my eyes have been opened to see the reality of the Kingdom of God. God, I believe, is waiting for my decision on whether I’ll take the red or blue pill. Honestly, I’m scared because I may not like what my job will be in the Kingdom. It may be fulfilling spiritually, but it could be uncomfortable. Actually, I know it WILL be uncomfortable. On the other hand, he promises to comfort and to give us a “peace that transcends all understanding.” I do know the Kingdom of God is life without fear… and that is AMAZING!
Hey Sherwin,
Thanks for sharing your honest thoughts on this. I can definitely identify with your struggle. As I was reading your post, these are the random thoughts that came to my mind:
Jesus informs us in Luke 17:21 that “the kingdom of God is within you.” So I guess the heart, yours and mine, is the point of entry for the kingdom. I believe this may be why Proverbs 4:23 tells us “Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life.” Trust me, I do not have it all figured out, but I have come to realize that God is more interested in what is going on inside our hearts rather than how big of a mountain we can toss into the sea via our faith (1 Corinthians 13:1-13). So if we look inside ourselves and see something really ugly and hopeless, we need not fall into despair. Instead, this is why Christ came, this is what Christ cured, and this is where Christ dwells: Within our corrupt hearts. If we would continually choose to receive the sacrificial and unconditional love of God, then we would find ourselves living a much more free and authentic life for God and not be plagued with debilitating fears. “There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love.” Actually, all of 1 John 4:7-21 is incredibly awesome and has been a tremendous encouragement to me lately.
Essentially, the pursuit of happiness is a wild goose chase and will never make a person truly happy. Only the pursuit of Christ’s kingdom and His gift-righteousness will make a person truly happy. I suppose this is why Jesus says “But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.” (Matthew 6:33) So then, maybe the blue pill is the pleasant, yet ultimately unsatisfying pursuit of happiness, whereas the red pill is the often uncomfortable, yet ultimately satisfying pursuit of Christ; the only One who can inject doses of true happiness into the human heart. Sorry for the long comment. God bless you my friend.
-brad
I wrote that blog post over the last few days. But even today I came across a scripture that gives me more clarification. From the Kingdom of God perspective, Gal. 2:20 says something to the effect that we don’t enter the Kingdom, it (Jesus) enters us. That’s not nearly as exciting as a secret kingdom entered by some magical closet door… but it focuses my thoughts less on what I do versus what He does.
Hey Sherwin
Very interesting post. I definitely agree that the Kingdom of Heaven is here and now, and that’s a wonderful thing. But as you say, accessing it is the trick, and ultimately, it’s not us who pushes open the door, but God who opens it and beckons us in.
That said, I worry that you’re beating yourself up too much for what you describe as pleasures of the flesh. Sure, pursuing these pleasures for their own sake is ultimately unfulfilling, but God didn’t give us bodies and our five senses purely to see if we could resist temptation.
Pleasure is surely part of the gift of the Kingdom, it’s just that we need to live by God’s spirit, which includes happiness, in order to really appreciate it.
What your life will be like in the Kingdom is perhaps unknowable to you, but I imagine that to anyone else seeing you, it won’t appear all that different from your life now.
Sorry, I didn’t mean for that to get quite so personal, especailly as I hardly know you!
God bless
Alex
Alex, thanks for posting a response and your point is well taken. But please don’t say my life transformed by Christ will look anything close to what I’m currently living. That’s too depressing.
Hey Sherwin. This seems odd me trying to reassure you about your faith, since you are the one that helped guide me to find mine. To me the last two sentences of your post are all that matters.
Yes this life has wonderful glossy little temptations and everyday hardships are well, hard. But forget that. Not easy. I know. But humour me and concentrate on your last lines again. Just think. Despite the bullshit and distractions, what is one thing that I know for sure?
Spoiler – The answer is: God’s promise to me is there and it is AMAZING!
I believe in that promise. I have a level of peace for the first time (despite currently going through some of the worst sickness and stress of my life). But I still have peace because God is there.
I have faith you will enter the Kingdom of God. You just need to stop worrying about whether you are going to, how long you’ve got to wait, and if you will like it when you are there!
Touché! (:
That image at the top of the post, the Neo character holding the two red pills in the mirror… reminds me of the old you. Longer hair and wearing all black. Coincidence?
I liked your post. I don’t think the choice of taking the blue pill or the red pill is a one time event but a choice we make over and over each day as we go about living our lives and encountering opportunities to create Kingdom of God moments in the places we inhabit. I believe that the Kingdom of God enters us, BUT according to scripture we also enter the Kingdom of God – and other things too (scripture indicates we can receive it, enter it, cultivate it, lay hold of it, seek it) – it seems to have many facets. I wrote a post back in May called “The Kingdom Of God Is At Hand” if you are interested http://gracerules.wordpress.com/2009/05/19/the-kingdom-of-god-is-at-hand/
If you do read it be sure and click the links that tell about church that gives a fresh meaning to the words “offering plate”, a child drinking clean water for the first time, and football fans cheering for the opposing team. To me these are examples of the Kingdom of God being “at hand”.
You’re right, the Kingdom of God is confusing. Jesus himself couldn’t find a good comparison for us. He’d say the Kingdom of God is like this, then turn around and say the Kingdom of God like something totally different. It’s no wonder people have a hard time with the concept.
BUT Jesus did say His kingdom is a better place, a wonderful place. He wants us to join Him there, and went to prepare it for us. The Kingdom is in Heaven, yet it’s also here on earth. We have dual citizenship, and don’t fully belong here anymore. As the old song says, “This world is not my home, I’m just passing through.”
Jesus warned us, “In this world you will have trouble.” The things of this earth can and will depress us and torment us. I don’t like watching the news for exactly that reason. But this physical world is not our final reality.
In a real sense, we never fully enter the Kingdom of God while we’re on earth. We’re on a journey to get there, kinda like Timothy in ArmorQuest.
You’re read, or at least watched, the “Lord of the Rings,” haven’t you? Tolkien’s elves live in both the physical and spiritual realms. (That’s not expressly stated in the narrative; it’s from one of the appedices.) When Elrond looked at the situation in Middle Earth, he got depressed and decided it was time for him and all other Elves to leave. He wanted them to go back where they came from, their original home across the sea. When Gandalf helped him see there was still some good left in Middle Earth, and it was worth saving, Elrond changed his mind and the Elves stayed. That was a pivotal point in turning the battle against the evil Sauron and Sarumann.
In many ways, you and I are like Tolkien’s elves. We know there’s more to life than what we see in this world. We have a couple windows into the spiritual realm; the Bible and the presence of God in our lives. There are many windows onto different “realities” around us; we need to use them wisely and carefully.
The apostle Paul was tempted to leave this world, too. He chose to stay as long as he could, because he thought he could do some good here. I cannot deny this world is not simply going down the toilet, it’s greasing the drain to speed up the process. The people around us were created in the image of God, though, and are worth saving.
I did a study on the Kingdom of God last summer, and this summer I studied faith. Maybe we should get together for a talk. It’s been a while, you know…
Liz, you are on to something here. What you described above about making the choice over and over again is essentially what philosophers mean by virtue. Sherwin mentions in his original post the struggles of being like Cypher in the movie. In many arenas of our lives we have moved from actually thinking about real issues to a more romantic idea of life. So people no longer say “I think” but they say “I feel” when describing what they think about certain situations. By putting it in the language of “I feel” they leave no real ground to stand upon or make logical sense out of why it is they feel that way other than mere mental assent. For that reason, “I think” a recovery of virtue in the church gives us a platform to begin to think logically about what it is we are being shaped by both as individuals and as a body. It provides the groundwork for us to fund our imaginations about the Kingdom from the practices in the church and the means of grace. Virtue for Aristotle is born in the cardinal virtues: Prudence, Temporance, Justice, and Fortitude. These are great virtues to strive for, but what we realize in the Christian faith is that these 4 virtues fall under the umbrella of faith, hope, and love; which, the greatest of these is love. That is, virtue recognizes that we are being shaped by love to become that very thing: love. Think about the Eucharist. Why do we participate in the Eucharist? Is it just to remember, or is it to be transformed into what we are eating, i.e. the body and blood of our savior broken, spilled out, and consumed for the sake of the world–which could also be understood as love!
For more on virtue ethics read:
After Virtue by Alasdair MacIntyre
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0268035040?ie=UTF8&tag=buitse-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=0268035040