A Year-Long Exploration of the Sermon on the Mount: Week 32

 

Chapter 32 – God’s Kingdom

 

Your kingdom come… (Matthew 6:10)

 

Christians spend a lot of time trying to figure out how to live the perfect life so that they can get into heaven. The belief is that the bible says that if we follow all of the rules, God will welcome us into heaven with open arms. These same people say that God’s kingdom is in heaven and only certain people will be able to enter into that kingdom.

 

But the Lord’s Prayer says right in it – your kingdom come. God’s kingdom isn’t a place waiting for us to arrive. God’s kingdom is here on earth, and God is waiting for us to do something about it. God sent Jesus to us as a way to show us how much God wants to be here on earth with us, and Jesus taught us how to show the world that everyone is invited to be part of God’s kingdom – not in heaven, but on earth!

 

So why are we trying to hard to get into the heavenly kingdom when we could be putting the same effort into taking care of God’s earthly kingdom? Every creature, great and small, every living thing, every speck of dust, and every breath of wind are all part of God’s kingdom. Stop worrying so much about the life beyond and start worrying about the lives in front of your faces! “Here on earth is where [God] wants to dwell again. Here on earth is where we may find [God]. Here on earth is where [God] came and will come again.” (p, 203)