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Thy Kingdom Come
Dec 30, 12:14 PM
“Thy Kingdom come, thy will be done on earth, as it is in heaven.” Matthew 6:10
For centuries, the emphasis of Christian religion was getting people into heaven. There was little regard for the impact of Christian faith in the systems and circumstances of the present age. What happened here and now took a back seat to the sweet by-and-by.
These days, the emphasis has shifted dramatically. Nowadays there is little regard for heaven. Most everything is geared toward changing the world as it is. “Thy Kingdom come” has become a motivating mantra for the church to work for effectual change in the fabric of people and society in the present age. There is nothing intrinsically wrong with that except that we can afford to have that kind of optimism to change the world because of our affluence and the relative prosperity of Western culture. We have been able to effectively shield ourselves from the fullness of evil’s depravity on the face of the earth. We have seen glimpses of it on TV but it has not yet blown up in our faces. When it does, our thinking will shift rapidly as we pray to be delivered to the streets of gold beyond the crystal sea.
For those whose life in this world is pretty good, heaven doesn’t mean much. But for those whose life in this world is untenable, the hope of life to come is a compelling vision. The slaves in 19th century America sang of it relentlessly. For those in the throes of terminal illness, release from the bonds of the suffering of this life is a compelling hope. There have been those who have criticized the hope of heaven as a means of keeping oppressed people in their place of subservience. While it is not possible to debate that issue from the opulent comfort of our living rooms, it is important to remember that the writers of the Bible who spoke of that hope were themselves under unimaginable oppression and persecution.
When Jesus spoke of the Kingdom, He spoke in terms of the way it is and the way it will be. We are caught between the two. The Kingdom is and is not yet. We see glimpses of it; we know its reality; we have tasted its sweetness. Nonetheless, we await its full and glorious consummation. We, along with all of creation, groan inwardly as we await the revelation of the children of God and our ultimate liberation.
The point is, however, that many who pray “thy Kingdom come” want to see things changed in society but not in themselves. Certainly, as the reign of Christ pervades it will have tangible effects on justice, peace, and prosperity on earth. But we are not called to “build” the Kingdom of God on earth. It is frankly audacious for us to believe that we can. We want to build it ourselves as if it were our own Babel Tower. Such audacity grows until some will actually seek to impose by force their version of it on the world.
We are not called to build the Kingdom but to proclaim it – by word and action. Our lives are supposed to be living proclamations of Kingdom reality and our relationships living demonstrations of Kingdom life. Our calling is to manifest the Kingdom by the goodness, power, purity, and love of our character, behavior, and relationships. When we, by the power of God bring about healing to individuals and situations, then the Kingdom of God has surely manifested itself. As we embody Kingdom reality it will have effects on those around us. But we do not live Kingdom life in order to change the world. We live it in faithful devotion to the One who will usher in the Kingdom in its fullness.