“your kingdom come,” (Matthew 6:10a NIV)
Today’s Scripture is the 3rd petition of the Lord’s Prayer. In my next blog, I will look at Matthew 6:10b (NIV), which says, “your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.” While both of these requests are closely related, I wanted to give each of them a deeper look separately, as I did in “Our Father: A Personal Journey of Discovery into the Lord’s Prayer.”
Sometimes we can think of the kingdom of God as a specific place, but let’s take a look at Luke 17:20-21 (NKJV) to see what it says about the kingdom of God, “Now when He [Jesus] was asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, He answered them and said, “The kingdom of God does not come with observation; nor will they say, ‘See here!’ or ‘See there!’ For indeed, the kingdom of God is within you.”
God’s kingdom has come to earth when His children become committed to obeying Him, and doing His will as much in the present, as we will when we are with Him in heaven.
As I think about that and seek God for greater understanding about it, I am reminded that Scripture says that “God is love.” (1 John 4)
So, if we are seeking to follow Him and become more like Him…that seems to be something we should endeavor to imitate. But, before we do that, He desires to pour out His love to each of us first. Once that happens, we will never be the same again. Our whole view of ourselves and our lives will become new.
Then, we can share God’s love for others by sharing our own experience with Him, not just the “right” words. Our words will just flow naturally as we speak, and our lives reflect our encounter with Him. Think about when you receive a very special gift, which means so much to you that you want everyone to have it as well. When we live in the revelation of God’s love for us, we want to share it – so that everyone can be renewed by it.
1 John 4: 7-12 (NIV) reminds us of God’s love for us, and how important it is to Him that we love one another. It says, “Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love. This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us.”
The importance that God places on us loving one another is clear in the fact that it is said multiple times in this one passage alone. God’s Word from beginning to end is all about God’s love for us, our love for God and our love for others. As we read it, we can be motivated to acts of loving-kindness.
When we get a glimpse of how much God loves us, we may feel unable to express His love to others as much as we want. When we feel like that, it is helpful to remember Jesus’ words in Matthew 25:40 (NIV), “Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.”
Friends, even the little things done with the right attitude can make a huge difference to someone’s life.
I encourage you to look for opportunities to show love to someone today. It may be something small to you, but huge to them. Every one of us is able to do something loving for another person. Our heavenly Father wants us to love one another, and as we do that…God’s kingdom will come – here and now.
My prayer today is, “Heavenly Father, thank you for loving me with a love that will never end. Please help me to see people the way You see them, and to love them with Your love. Please help me to show You and Your love to everyone I meet. May Your kingdom come to this world today! In Jesus’ Name, AMEN.
