Through the ages the question has been asked, "Where is the kingdom of God?" Jesus answered this question at the time the Pharisees demanded when the kingdom of God would come. He clearly and unequivocally explained, "The kingdom of God cometh not with observation: neither shall they say, Lo here! or, lo there! for, behold, the kingdom of God is within you" (Luke 17: 20, 21). In spite of this explanation, mankind still continue to look for the kingdom of God somewhere outside themselves.
In the study of Christian Science, we learn how to look for this kingdom of heaven within, for Mrs. Eddy clarifies Jesus' words. On page 267 of Miscellany, she writes, "Our great Teacher hath said: 'Behold, the kingdom of God is within you' —within man's spiritual understanding of all the divine modes, means, forms, expression, and manifestation of goodness and happiness." The key, then, to finding the kingdom of God is spiritual understanding.
Since beginning the study of Christian Science, the writer has found it very helpful to compare material existence to a sleeping dream. To illustrate: a person might be asleep and dreaming that he was in the grip of a terrible situation, but if someone entered the room, he would be seen as safe and secure in his home. His dream could not be seen or touched; it would have no reality or tangible substance. Because it was illusion, it would have no power, no effect. The walls and the furniture in the room would be evident, as well as the sleeping form, but the dream would be nowhere except in sleep. Spiritual understanding enables us to see that while we seem to be dreaming in matter, experiencing pleasure as well as sin and sickness, our real spiritual selfhood is protected and loved in the house, or divine consciousness, of our loving Father-Mother God. Goodness is everywhere, and God, Spirit, is in complete control of His perfect spiritual kingdom.
