Jesus answered, “My kingdom is not of this world. If my kingdom were of this world, my servants would have been fighting, that I might not be delivered over to the Jews. But my kingdom is not from the world.”| John 18.36
This Sunday we looked at two petitions of the Lord’s Prayer: YOUR KINGDOM COME and YOUR WILL BE DONE. In both of these, Jesus is contrasting two ways to live: a life connected with God or a life without God; for His kingdom or for another; in line with His will or against it. In all of these, Jesus is calling Christians to embrace who they are in Him. In no way does He think we can do this on our own, which is the reason He gives us this prayer. It is through these requests that God does the following 6 things; He uses it:
to build in us a Kingdom-mentality: that finds our identity and hope in Him
The process of coming to Him again and again proclaiming our place in His Kingdom and our part in His will shapes us into ambassadors.
to strengthen us against the false hopes of earthly kingdoms
The reminder that there are other Kingdoms and Wills that fight against His prepares us to be discerning.
to make us confident in His revealed will: so that we will obey
The assurance that His Kingdom will come and His Will is going to be recognized gives us the strength to keep doing what is right, even when it feels futile.
to keep us from getting trapped in the paradox: rejecting one part of Him for another
The existence of conflicting truths in God’s character forces us to either love or hate Him. He is not a God who can be simply acknowledged.
to give us the hope of His kingdom victory: we live for eternity now
The promise of future completion of all things gives us the ability to begin living for heaven while we are still here on earth.
to carry us through this life of monotony, fear, and doubt
The overwhelming burden of failure is removed from us as we are declared: ‘more than conquerors’ because of the victory of Christ. We can now live this life in the freedom of the gospel.
While it may seem like just a few simple phrases, saying them and pondering them over and over and over, is how God directs us. He reminds us, challenges us, rebukes us, and guides us through the act of us declaring: YOUR KINGDOM COME, YOUR WILL BE DONE, ON EARTH AS IT IS IN HEAVEN.