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Question 6

Bercot lists Francis of Assisi, Thomas of Kempis, rural peasants, and urban housewives as people who lived Jesus’ teachings “quite literally”; what does that variety imply about God’s intention for where Kingdom life can be lived, and what excuses does it remove for people in our own stage of life?

Another way to ask: Francis of Assisi, Thomas of Kempis, peasants, and housewives all tried to live Jesus’ teachings literally. What does that say about where “Kingdom life” can happen, and what excuses does that remove for us in our own stage of life?

Direct Answer Bercot’s examples imply that Kingdom life is not limited to one location or lifestyle; it can be lived in spiritual communities, rural labor, and ordinary family life. That variety removes the excuse that only monks, scholars, or “special Christians” can take Jesus’ teachings literally.

Support from Transcript:

He says there were “tens of thousands of medieval Christians who lived out Jesus’ teachings quite literally.”
Some, like “Francis of Assisi and Thomas of Kempis,” followed a Kingdom lifestyle within “some type of spiritual order or community.”
They “lived out quiet lives of prayer, service, and love,” showing a non-political, everyday faithfulness.
Others were “illiterate, rural peasants,” far from “centers of power and worldly sophistication.”
Others were “urban housewives, living out Jesus’ teachings in a family setting.”
He concludes Kingdom Christians typically “applied [Jesus’ teachings] quite literally,” which he calls what Kingdom Christianity “has always been about.”

Discussion Follow-ups Which setting is closest to yours—community, work, or family? What specific part of Jesus’ teaching would look “literal” in that setting this week?

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