This column first appeared in Baptist Press Dec. 28, 2009

Coming out of a restaurant one frosty autumn day, I pulled my jacket collar tightly up under my chin and walked briskly toward my car – only to find it wasn’t there. Three phone calls and $119 later, I retrieved my car from impoundment. “Didn’t you see the sign?” chided the cashier as he handed me my keys. “It says No Parking in Alley.”

I had missed the sign but legally was without excuse. As a result, there was no way to escape the consequences – a gentle reminder of a greater truth: Of all the things we miss in life, the greatest tragedy is missing the kingdom of heaven. And yet people throughout the ages have missed the opportunity to enjoy the everlasting benefits of God’s glorious reign.

You might think it’s easy to miss something that the New Testament describes as a “mystery” (KJV) or a “secret” (HCSB). But actually, missing the kingdom of heaven requires a deliberate act of the will. Consider three reasons some will miss the kingdom.

1. They don’t see it. Jesus told Nicodemus that unless a person is born again, he or she cannot see the kingdom of heaven, let alone enter it (John 3:3-5). It takes the regenerative work of the Holy Spirit in the human heart to make one a child of the kingdom.

Lest we become fatalistic and blame God for not saving everyone, Jesus tells His disciples that the lost can’t see because they refuse to see. Quoting Isaiah, the Savior says, “For this people’s heart has grown callous; their ears are hard of hearing, and they have shut their eyes; otherwise they might see with their eyes and hear with their ears, understand with their hearts and turn back – and I would cure them” (Matt. 13:15 HCSB). While the immediate context of this verse is a reference to unbelieving Jews in Jesus’ day, the truth of hardened hearts is universal.

The apostle Paul adds that Satan gladly keeps lost people in the dark as “the god of this age has blinded the minds of the unbelievers so they cannot see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God” (2 Cor. 4:4). But for those who hear the gospel and receive it by faith, the Father “has rescued us from the domain of darkness and transferred us into the kingdom of the Son He loves” (Col. 1:13).

Simply put, people don’t see the kingdom because they choose not to see it.

2. They don’t want it. In the parable of the sower (Matt. 13:1-9, 18-23) Jesus compares human hearts to soil to illustrate varying degrees of readiness to receive the kingdom. Some hearts are hardened and defiant like the footpaths winding through ancient fields; others are shallow and uncommitted like rocky soil; still others are worldly like thorny ground. In each case those who hear the message of the kingdom prefer the barrenness of their own lives to the abundance Christ promises to those whose hearts are yielded like fertile soil.

In another parable, Jesus tells of a nobleman who travels to a far country to receive authority to be king, entrusting his affairs to his servants. Meanwhile, his subjects hate him and send a delegation after him saying, “We don’t want this man to rule over us!” (Luke 19:14). When the nobleman returns, he compensates his servants according to their stewardship and then turns his attention on those who have rejected his authority: “But bring here these enemies of mine, who did not want me to rule over them, and slaughter them in my presence” (Luke 19:27).

The nobleman, of course, is Jesus, and the subjects who hate Him are the Jews of His day who should have received Him gladly. Instead, in fulfillment of Isaiah’s prophecy, the Messiah is “despised and rejected” (Isa. 53:3). The apostle John is more specific: “He came to His own, and His own people did not receive Him” (John 1:11).

Luke 19:27 may be seen as a dual prophecy in which Jesus foretells the destruction of Jerusalem and the Diaspora in 70 A.D., as well as the final judgment of unbelievers – all those who want no part of Jesus’ kingdom – before the great white throne (Rev. 20:11-15).

Many will miss the kingdom, not because they can’t see it, but because they don’t want it.

3. They can’t stand it. The New Testament is full of stories of people who “try” the kingdom but ultimately prefer to cast their lot with Satan’s competing domain. In the parable of the unmerciful servant (Matt. 18:21-35) Jesus makes the point that true followers of Christ take on His character, while pretenders ultimately show that their hearts were never changed. In the parable of the vineyard owner (Matt. 21:33-46) stewardship of God’s kingdom is taken away from Israel and given to the church. And in the parable of the wedding banquet (Matt. 22:1-14) a guest is bound hand and foot and cast out of the kingdom because he prefers his filthy rags to the white garment (the righteousness of Christ) offered by the king.

What these parables illustrate is that many people will stake a claim in the kingdom of heaven on false pretenses – some, by virtue of their heritage; others, by their association with Christianity, such as church membership; still others, by their own righteousness. In every case, these pretenders have “tasted the heavenly gift” (Heb. 6:4) but found they can’t stand the thought of bending the knee to the King of kings and Lord of lords.

Like the rich young ruler, they go away grieved. Like the Antichrist’s followers, they shake their fists toward heaven and defy God. And like the self-righteous, they argue that their works – in the name of Jesus, no less – are sufficient justification for entrance into the kingdom, yet the King responds: “I never knew you!” (Matt. 7:23).

Many will miss the kingdom, not because they can’t see it or don’t want a piece of it, but because their hearts are so set against God they can’t stand it.

The ultimate question is how one enters the kingdom of heaven. Jesus is remarkably clear: “Anyone who hears My word and believes Him who sent Me has eternal life and will not come under judgment but has passed from death to life” (John 5:24). Christ has done all the work. Our proper response – the only acceptable response – is to hear and believe. We miss the kingdom only when we choose not to see it, not to want it, or not to stand it.

Copyright 2010 by Rob Phillips