“Kingdom” is not a word we use much nowadays. Even for me, with British nationality and a history of kings and queens, it’s not a concept that I think about. But, having lived in the UK and USA, and having visited many different countries, I often imagine out loud “if only I could take the best parts of each place I’ve lived and visited and make a country with…
- London black cabs and their knowledgeable, entertaining drivers,
- American air conditioning on hot summer days,
- No litter (I’ve just come back from Finland and the streets were pristine).
…then life would be perfect. Well, not quite. But, you get the idea.
Jesus, in his first public announcement, told us he brought God’s kingdom to earth and it was a good thing. He showed us what God’s kingdom was like through his words and actions.
He said God’s “country” was “good news to the poor,” “freedom for the prisoners and those oppressed,” “recovery of sight for the blind,” and “favor” (Luke 4:18-19).
Jesus showed us what the Father’s world, instead of the broken world we know, should look like. He gave us more than a glimpse of God, our Daddy Father.
Jesus got up close with people who were desperate. He healed. He rescued. He gave sight to blind eyes, both physically and spiritually. He set people free from bondage that kept them physically, mentally, and spiritually bound. He brought peace to those who trusted him.
Jesus showed people compassion and love. Jesus sought out people to give them a new start—the widow whose only son had died, a despised tax collector, a woman who came to the well and found Jesus waiting for her..
Now, that sounds like a country worth moving to! It would be like finding treasure and getting rich, being given a pearl necklace, no money worries or high inflation, no long waiting for necessary surgery (if you’re living in the UK), no high medical bills (if you’re living in the USA), and a country that’s always green, warm, and sunny.
We are waiting for that “country.”
In the meantime, Jesus told us to pray
your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven (Matthew 6:10).
Ultimately, to have that prayer answered, it will be a new earth and new heaven where we know serenity and freedom from fear, grief, misery, suffering, distress, alienation.
That seems something hard to imagine. But, in the meantime, as we wait and pray, the best way we can have God’s kingdom come on earth is to open our hearts and lives to God’s rule.
We live in God’s country when we follow Jesus’ example, and the number one rule he told us to keep—to love God and love other people.
Pray
