Thy Kingdom Come

Every day, thousands of people in Ireland pray the “Our Father”, but there is a danger that these precious words can be merely an empty repetition that engages neither the mind nor the heart.

In that prayer, one of the key requests that Jesus taught His followers to pray is, “Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.”

Have you ever stopped to ask what they mean?

A kingdom is a realm over which a king reigns. It involves authority and submission, with a monarch ruling over subjects.

“Our Father” is obviously addressed to God, so it is His kingdom that we pray for, and since the request is that the kingdom come, it is clearly not here yet, or at least not in all its fullness and glory.

The second part of the request explains more fully the meaning of the first part: “Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” In heaven the authority of God and His right to rule is unquestioned; but here on earth, there is manifest rebellion against God.

When the angel Gabriel appeared to Mary to announce the birth of the Christ, he said to her about the Child,

“He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Highest; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David. And He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of His kingdom there will be no end” (Luke 1:32-33).

The Lord Jesus entered our world through Incarnation to establish God’s kingdom on earth by becoming King. But as He made His final approach to Jerusalem, He knew that the nation of Israel had rejected His rightful authority as God’s anointed king, the Christ (Messiah). And He told a parable of judgment (Luke 19:11-27), because the crowds following Him “thought the kingdom of God would appear immediately” (v. 11).

Jesus understood that His destiny was to sit on the throne of David and to rule forever, but He also knew that His death on the cross was the God-appointed means of establishing His kingdom with loyal subjects. In the parable, He clearly foretells the national rejection of His rightful rule in these words, “We will not have this man to reign over us” (v. 14).

The parable ends with a warning that those who reject His rule will be severely judged when the King returns (v. 27).

The true expression of our loyalty to God and His chosen King, Jesus, is not determined by our words, but by our actions and the attitude of our hearts.

And the reality is that we are all rebels by nature and by choice. We might faithfully mouth the words, “Thy will be done”, but reject His authority and express by our actions and attitudes, “MY will be done!”
What we need is a new heart, which is why Jesus told Nicodemus, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God” (John 3:3). Through faith in the Lord Jesus, we are given new life and a new heart. Only those whose hearts are loyal to the King will be part of God’s kingdom, and as we express our loyalty to His rightful authority, we are even now transferred from the kingdom of darkness into the Kingdom of God’s dear Son (Colossians 1:13).

Whether you like it or not, one day that Kingdom will come and God’s will will be done on earth, as it is in heaven. Jesus will return on the clouds with power and great glory (Mark 13:26-27) to establish a kingdom that will never end, a kingdom of justice and peace, a kingdom where swords are turned into plowshares, and war will be no more (Isaiah 2:2-4; 11:1-9).

Will you be part of that Kingdom? Or will you experience the judgment of the rightful King when He returns? Remember His words:

“But bring here those enemies of mine, who did not want me to reign over them, and slay them before me” (Luke 19:27).

DNW