Matthew 6:10
Your kingdom come,
your will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.
When we pray “Your kingdom come” to God, we are asking that the work of the Holy Spirit would spread, that lost people would be saved, that Jesus would “plunder the kingdom of Satan” (as our church’s doctrinal statement so magnificently states) by bringing people from the bondage of idolatry into joyful submission to his loving rule. If this doesn’t sound revolutionary it’s likely because we don’t recognize the utterly out-of-the-ordinary manner in which Christ’s kingdom spreads. Every kingdom on earth grows by power and conquering and deal-making and leverage. Every kingdom on earth grows at someone’s expense–usually the weak and vulnerable. Earthly kingdoms crush their opponents or at least gain leverage over them.
The Kingdom of Christ is nothing like this. Yes, it does grow at the expense of someone, but not the weak or vulnerable. It was established and grows at the expense of the King himself. Jesus founded his kingdom in lowliness and sacrifice by “emptying himself, by taking the form of a servant” (Phil. 2:7). He came “not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” (Matt 20:28) He taught his disciples that the least among us will be the greatest and to have faith like a child. And “God showed his love for us in that while we were yet sinners Christ died for us.” (Rom. 5:8) Jesus won his victory by laying down his life. He overcame the world and gave us peace at the cost of his life.
I originally wrote this post for my church, Immanuel Nashville, in our Daily Pulse email. If you want encouragement from God’s word delivered Monday thru Friday to your inbox, I encourage you to subscribe.
