For many of us, reciting the Lord's Prayer is, or at some time in our lives has been, a regular part of our church experience. Over the course of a lifetime, some of us have recited that prayer hundreds, thousands or even tens of thousand of times. But, reciting the Prayer and understanding it are two different things. And this may be particularly true of these three words: "thy Kingdom come." Actually, I doubt that many of us have ever given any serious thought to the meaning of those three words.
The terms "kingdom of God" or "kingdom of heaven" are generally thought to be interchangeable. They appear about 100 times in the New Testament. In fact, Jesus both began and ended His earthly ministry by teaching about the kingdom of God. Jesus began to preach about the kingdom shortly after His wilderness experience. Matthew 4:17 And, He continued to speak about the kingdom through the forty days He spent with the apostles following His resurrection from the dead. Acts 1:3.
The kingdom of God is an important concept. In fact, when we find it, we should be willing to give up everything to possess it.
44 “The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field. When a man found it, he hid it again, and then in his joy went and sold all he had and bought that field.
45 “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant looking for fine pearls. 46 When he found one of great value, he went away and sold everything he had and bought it.
Matthew 13:44-46.
In October we will turn our attention back to the great sermon, and we will begin by exploring the meaning of the words "thy kingdom come." I am excited to see what God's Word reveals to us about His kingdom.
In the meantime, I hope and pray that we as a church we will continue to strain toward the kingdom.
