In his book THE COMPASSIONATE CHRIST, Dale Oldham compared the attitude that many people have about the Kingdom to a yapping dog that resided in his neighborhood. The dog was always chasing a cat that lived next door. Whenever he saw the cat, he would go after it as if it were his only aim in living. So long as the cat ran, everything was lovely. But occasionally the cat would stop suddenly and face the dog. Then the dog would put on the brakes and act as if the whole thing were only a joke. Evidently the cat was to be chased but not to be caught, and if the cat insisted on being caught, then the dog was most embarrassed. "Too often," says Dale Oldham, "we have pursued the Kingdom of God in this same spirit. We have cried out in a burst of enthusiasm so long as we have been pursuing the Kingdom, but most of us would be greatly embarrassed if we were actually to catch up with the Kingdom."