Both. When a person decides that they want God to be in charge, it’s a monumental event. But conversion from the kingdom of Me to the kingdom of God usually happens bit by bit over a lifetime. Sometimes we take back territory and must be reminded of the blessing of letting God rule that area of our lives again. ​“Enlarge the area of your conversion, tak­ing in fresh territory every day,” E. Stanley Jones encouraged. 

In Jesus’ parable recorded in Matthew 13:31 – 32, he remarked that God’s reign grows like a mustard seed. A mustard plant is miniscule at first but matures into a tree that gives shelter and shade. This parable is Jesus’ way of teaching how conversion from your kingdom to his kingdom happens. 

Complete obedience in your life — the total rule of God’s kingdom — is made up of one small surrender after another. These surrenders might seem like laughably small movements— sharing a treat you’d been looking forward to; holding back a sharp word; passing up an opportunity to brag; smiling and talking with someone when you don’t feel like it. As you submit to the Lord one after another of your appetites, opinions, and ideas, each small gesture waters the little seed of God’s kingdom in you.

“Take up your cross daily and follow me,” Jesus urged in Luke 9:23. Keep dying to your kingdom and keep reawakening to mine — as many times as it takes for every single part of you to be an eternal YES to God.

Dallas Willard translates this phrase as ​“Rethink your strategy for living because the reality of God’s active presence and rule is fully available to you right now.” Before we can take up the new order of life in God’s kingdom we need to observe our trajectory under our own rule and decide to change course. 

For some people that’s a no brainer! Something has opened their eyes to the desperate inadequacy of running their own lives according to appetites and ambitions. 

The rest of us need something to break the illusion — something that causes us to rethink things and realize that the good life isn’t getting our way (despite what so many voices tell us). 

Sometimes people think they can pursue their own kingdoms during this life while reserving a future citizenship in God’s kingdom when they die. But Jesus says we can’t have it both ways. The kingdom we invest in now through how we direct our thoughts, time, talent, and treasure is the only kingdom we will inherit. 

The word kingdom can trigger images of corrupt political kingdoms, exploitative regimes, and other abuses of power. With all those negative kingdom examples in our historical imaginations, it’s tempting to bypass the word for something without all the baggage. 

Richard Foster writes, ​“Some today like to refer to the kingdom of God as a ​‘kin-dom,’ emphasizing Jesus as our friend. True, Jesus is our Friend — the very best — but he is only our Friend if he is first and foremost our Lord. Jesus himself makes this unmistakably clear when he says, ​‘You are my friends if you do what I command you’ (John 15:14). We know Jesus as Lord in order to be in a position to experience him as Friend.”

If we toss out every biblical image or word that has a twisted parallel in human history, we’ll soon have no language or imagery left. So instead of judging God’s kingdom by poor earthly examples, we need to let the goodness of God and the justice and beauty of the kingdom set the standard. It’s by this contrast that we recognize abuse when we see it, and throughout the ages God has spoken through prophets to condemn corrupt leadership.

If you’re someone who has trouble with the concept of kingdom, take some time to unpack that with a spiritual director or pastor. Remember that God’s resurrection power can restore anything to life, including our ideas.