The Here and The Now

I was reading the Bible and this passage was brought to my attention. It's one that I've read before. It's one that I've heard before in preaching. But ~ today, it made me go back to re-read and even to go back later. Luke 17:20-21 (NLT):

One day the Pharisees said to Jesus, " When will the Kingdom of God come?"

Jesus replied, "The Kingdom of God can't be detected by visible signs. You

won't be able to say, "Here it is!" or "It's over there!" For the Kingdom

of God is already among you.

The Kingdom of God here? Among the pain and suffering? Among the jobless? Among the hungry? I have to say YES! The Kingdom of God is here among us. It lives in the hearts of His people. Wherever I go, He is there. But am I acting this way? Am I acting as Jesus would? Romans 12:10 (NLT)

Be devoted to one another in love. Honor one another above yourselves.

I fall short of this so much. I do put others above myself alot. But, those others are my family. God looks at all of us as family. We are brothers and sisters in Christ. Yet, it is hard to look outside my family or outside my church and think of them as family. It is so much easier to look and to judge. And seriously, this time of year does bring out some examples of how crazy people can be. (Black Friday ring any bells? LOL) But, even though I may fall short, I must at least try to live by Jesus' example. Only then, will my children do the same.