Stuart Little Eyes

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Luke 17:20–21 (ESV) Being asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, he answered them, "The kingdom of God is not coming with signs to be observed, nor will they say, 'Look, here it is!' or 'There it is!' For behold, the kingdom of God is in your midst."

What It's Speaking to Me

In 2009, a Hungarian art historian named Gergely Barki was doing something all good fathers do: sitting on his couch watching a movie he doesn't care for because his daughter loves it. In this case it was the movie Stuart Little. It's a kids' movie about a mouse who gets adopted into a human family... it is about as good as that premise may sound to you.

But there on the screen, hanging on the wall in the background of Stuart Little's family fireplace, was a painting. A painting Barki recognized. It was titled Sleeping Lady with Black Vase, by a Hungarian artist named Róbert Berény. It had been missing since 1928, over 70 years. Turns out, a film assistant had picked it up at an antique shop for $500, thinking it would make good set decoration (and it did look great!). Nobody else had seen it for what it was. It took someone with trained art-historian eyes, in a completely mundane, everyday moment, to recognize a masterpiece hiding in plain sight. He was able to track down the set designer, and get it sent back to Hungary. It sold at auction later for over $250,000.

See, the Pharisees wanted to know when the Kingdom of God was going to show up. Give us a sign. Put it on the calendar. They wanted a press release. Maybe a nice fireworks show. And Jesus essentially said: you're already missing it. It's already here, right now, right where you are.

Hopefully we aren't like the Pharisees much at all, but I think every once in a while we can spend time looking for the spectacular, for the big show, for the big signs, or the dramatic movements we are expecting God to do... and we can inadvertently walk past the Kingdom happening right in front of us. In an ordinary conversation. On an ordinary Tuesday. In the middle of something as unremarkable as watching a movie with your kid.

The Kingdom isn't hiding from us. We may just need to train our eyes a little more to recognize it when it's right in front of us.

What Is It Saying to You?

Where in your ordinary, everyday life might the Kingdom of God already be at work?

How do you maybe need to stop long enough to notice it?

What Are We Going to Do About It?

Pick one ordinary moment today, whether your commute, your lunch break, or the dishes after dinner, and before it starts, pray a simple prayer like: "Lord, open my eyes. Show me where You are right now." Then pay attention. Write down what you notice.