His Kingdom Come

In the early church service last Sunday, it was dark and stormy outside thanks to the forcast of thunder and lightening. Well the power went out during the service while we were singing one of the litany hymn of praises. It’s a weekly Sunday event to sing such during the early more liturgical service as opposed to the more praise service at 10:30. I go to both services (my calling is to serve in the church so I attend both services and then some). Anyway those of us in the pews, without benefit of a choir, continued to sing it acapella. It was a goosebump moment where I really felt His presence.

It also reminded me of the Kingdom of God, here and now, and what I have come to discover about it lately. For me His Kingdom is not a future hope but a present reality, in Him the order of forward looking hope yielded to a new order, reflecting “redemption accomplished.”

It is enjoying miracles of tomorrow today. It encompasses those good things Jesus provides: identity, forgiveness of sins, peace of mind, a righteousness that alone provides access to God and his loving relationship, the indwelling Spirit, a purpose of life, victory over sin, resurrection, hope, and eternal life. The Kingdom is in consummation today.

“Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth (thanks to the Lord Jesus) as it is in heaven”. Christ inaugurated the Kingdom - all unity is in Him. It is both present and promise. He is both transcendent and imminent. The Kingdom is devoid of all dimensions of outward glory. It’s a hidden-ness of God working in the hearts of people, scattered throughout the world of time and space. Within and beyond history, both God’s gift to me along with the task to share it even as I wait for His return. If our eyes and ears are open however, we see God everywhere in his creation.

In the meanwhile, we are in the world but not of it (Jn 15:18). As humans we live here, of course, as flesh and not spirit. But we don't have to live in the world the way the world dictates. We can live in the Kingdom of God. That is easier said than done because we are human and flesh; and the world's/culture's ways are so subtle/gradual that we don't even know when it has seeped inside us then all of a sudden we are living submissively in the world, messing up. The paradox is we are supposed to live wherever it is we are placed on this earth, to live at a higher standard as believers. As tempting as it is we can’t sequester away from the other lower kingdom (life here on earth) that many mistakenly think reigns. We have to live from the inside out, not let the outside influences whats direction our inward action.

Part of the excitement of living in His Kingdom is to develop an eye to watch his hand in life; to experience miracles when we attune our self to watching for them. Henry Nouwen, in his book “Reaching Out”, speaks to coming to the joy of solitude vs reflecting on aloneness as loneliness (remember I mention wanting to sequester away from the evils of the world). He goes on to say that when in solitude of the heart,the inner quality or attitude that isn’t defined by physical isolation, but instead it’s the finding of the innermost self, we are better equipped to embrace the hostilities of the world, be more hospitable to those in need and who are hurting. I’m in the process of trying to grasp this concept as I struggle with becoming overly passionate with the needy and hurt, not able to separate myself from it such that it weighs me down. Recently, I have been blessed, if in a small way, not to carry those hardships I see outside my personal world, sometimes adding them to my own personal ones, now instead lifting them up more in prayer.

The Kingdom has come (where I want to live now) thy will be done, on earth as it is in Heaven. In God’s perfect time, His people are blessed with a renewal and refreshment.