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Luke 11 v 2. “…your kingdom come”

We are all citizens of a country. We have identity documents or passports that tell others where we belong. But in another sense we are also citizens of a “Kingdom”. The word “Kingdom implies a King who rules over his territory. We belong to one of two “Kingdoms”, in a spiritual sense. We either belong to the Kingdom of darkness, or we belong to the Kingdom of God’s dear Son (Col 1:13). This Kingdom is also called the “Kingdom of Light” (Col 1:12). And because this Kingdom is ruled by Jesus, all his citizens have the gift of redemption and the forgiveness of sins.

The Kingdom of darkness is a way of speaking about the world which is ruled by the devil. His rule has no light at all. In fact his dominion in our lives leads to spiritual blindness and deafness. It is a rule that deludes us into thinking we are okay as we are. It is a Kingdom of darkness that will one day be destroyed

God’s Kingdom on earth is seen in the lives of those who love Him and serve him through Jesus Christ our Lord. But there will come a day when Jesus shall return to this world with all its brokenness and then the whole universe will be regenerated, made anew. At that time God’s Kingdom will be seen and experienced in all its glory. And that is why we pray “Your Kingdom come”.

In the meantime, while we await that great event we are charged with the responsibility to proclaim the message of salvation. We do so by prayer, witnessing, by friendships, by acts of love and generosity and in hundreds of other ways that will enable people to see that we have escaped from the Kingdom of darkness, by God’s grace. Therefore as we pray for God’s Kingdom to come, we are as active as possible in promoting the Kingdom of God to others.

If you want an example of the difference between the Kingdom of darkness and the Kingdom of God’s dear Son, then think of the difference between the funeral rites of those who have no faith and those who do. What do those who have no faith say on such occasions? They usually have nothing of significance to say, so apart from some sentimental comments they will resort to a “Celebration of Life” or sometimes no funeral at all, just a few drinks at a pub or in someone’s house to raise a glass to the memory of the deceased.

Christians on the other hand may truly grieve, yet in all their grief they have a real hope for the future because of God’s coming Kingdom.

Make sure you are a citizen of that Kingdom through faith in Jesus Christ and then pray that his Kingdom will grow by others coming to faith –and then finally – the glory of the new heaven and the new earth.