Imagine how we would feel if Jesus approached us and said, “You are not far from the kingdom of God!” Well, it turns out that it is not very complicated to be far from the kingdom of God. We must love God with our whole heart, soul, mind, and strength, and love our neighbors as we love ourselves. Loving God is not too difficult, especially if we believe that God is the creator and source of all that we are, all that we have, and all that we will ever be. Loving our neighbors as ourselves is not that complicated, but it is not easy. It means wanting and doing for our neighbors what we want and do for ourselves, including those neighbors who do not return our love, those who reject us, and those who clearly do not love us. When we do meet Jesus, how far will He say that we are from the kingdom of God?
