“Our Father in Heaven, Hallowed be Your name. Your Kingdom come….” Matthew 6:9-10.

Growing up was adventurous for me in more than one way. A 1000-page book would not successfully capture my experiences and escapades. Specifically today, I remember how it became a family tradition to take a 5-10minutes walk to the evening prayers following the ringing of the 6:00pm church bell. On very few occasions, we would recite ‘The Lord’s Prayer’ at home if my Big Auntie was too tired to make the walk to the Church. And almost every time, I would wonder what ‘thy kingdom come‘ actually meant? What kingdom is this? Where is it? And where on earth would it be located?…..

A few weeks ago, my curiosity about ‘the kingdom of God’ was aroused once again as I read through Mark 4:26;

“And He said, The Kingdom of God is as if a man should scatter seed on the ground, and should sleep by night and rise by day, and the seed should sprout and grow, he himself does not know how for the earth yields crops by itself: first the blade, then the head, after that the full grain. But when the grain ripens, immediately he puts in the sickle, because the harvest has come”

As I began studying about ‘the kingdom of God‘, I was convinced that my childhood desire to understand what this really means wasn’t misplaced. Curiosity can indeed make you smarter! 🙂

So what is a Kingdom?

A kingdom describes a realm, country or government whose ruler is a king or a queen. Kingdoms are defined by territories and physical boundaries and every kingdom has its people, values and culture. Citizenship into any kingdom is determined by birth, naturalization, marriage, etc depending on a country’s policies and regulations.

‘The Kingdom of God’ refers to a specific government established by God (Jehovah), having as its king Jesus Christ who is King of many other kings (Matthew 28:18). The Kingdom of God is not of this world (John 18:36) and is not delineated by physical boundaries and landmarks. Citizenship into The Kingdom is by a spiritual rebirth.

I enumerate below 2 fundamental attributes of anyone that may become a citizen of God’s Kingdom;

1. The kingdom of God is for the ‘poor in spirit’ (Matthew 5:1-7). This refers to people who can make just a little space for vulnerability and brokenness. Vulnerable enough to believe the Bible, to pray and believe that God answers prayers. Vulnerable enough to believe in the existence of a Superior Being that made the world and everything in it. And vulnerable enough to confess Jesus Christ with their mouth, believe in their heart that He (Jesus Christ) came down to Earth from Heaven to save man from sin and was killed, buried but raised back to life by Almighty God.

2. The kingdom of God is for persons who can be child-like (Matthew 18:1-5). Those that can HUMBLE themselves. Humble themselves to Trust, Obey and Follow. Humble themselves enough to learn new things and have rich imaginations/creativity. People who forgive easily and keep no record of wrongs (definitely not describing ‘Christians’ who want to ‘honor’ their late mother and so would not welcome a relationship with her living ‘enemies’).

Romans 14:17-18 tells us the prevailing culture in God’s Kingdom. A culture of Righteousness, Peace and Joy in the Holy Ghost (Romans 14: 17-18). Where Righteousness refers to virtue, integrity, uprightness, being justifiable and right. Peace means tranquility, quietness, stillness, calmness or freedom from disturbance or war. And Joy portrays a state or feeling of delight, pleasure, happiness, rejoicing, triumph, radiance or ecstasy.

Jesus Christ is our Peace (Ephesians 2:14, Isaiah 53:5). Jesus Christ became sin so that we might become the righteousness of God (2 Corinthians 5:21). And Jesus Christ prayed The Father to send us The Holy Ghost to keep our lives ever flowing with Joy (1 Thessalonians 1:6, John 14:26, Galatians 5:22).

We therefore are Righteous through Christ, have Peace through Christ and overflow with Joy in The Holy Ghost through Christ. Halleluyah!

So we possess all that the Kingdom of God is about;

“for the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.” Romans 14:17

In Mark 4: 26-32, Jesus Christ paints a picture of the Kingdom of God and I love it!

“Then He said, ‘To what shall we liken the kingdom of God? Or with what parable shall we picture it? It is like a mustard seed which, when it is sown on the ground, is smaller than all the seeds on earth, but when it is sown, it grows up and becomes greater than all herbs, and shoots out large branches, so that the birds of the air may nest under its shade.” Mark 4: 30-32.

To put seed in the ground and believe that it will grow requires some level of faith, albeit, latent. To put seed in the ground and go to sleep suggests an absence of fear/anxiety and existence of Peace/Rest. We plant, water, go to sleep and God causes our seed to grow to the point that it yields branches which provides nests for birds.

The Kingdom of God is about righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Ghost. The Kingdom of God is about faith and increase. The Kingdom of God is about the overflow of this increase to others.

Now, there were a group of fully grown men (and maybe women) who apparently remained in my childhood state of wonder and enquiry. They went to Jesus and asked Him when to expect The Kingdom of God……

“Now when He was asked by the Pharisees when the Kingdom of God would come, He answered them and said, The kingdom of God does not come with observation, nor will they say, ‘See here!’ or ‘See there!’ For indeed, the Kingdom of God is within you.” Luke 17:20-21.

Jesus Christ did not answer them with a parable. He gave a simple and clear response; The Kingdom of God is not a physical structure or a designated land area or visible territory. Rather, The Kingdom of God is Within Me and You!

The Kingdom is in us as integrity, uprightness and Godly virtue. The Kingdom of God is within us as calmness, freedom and stillness. The Kingdom of God is within us as overflowing joy in the Holy Ghost. The Kingdom of God is in us as faith and increase, yielding great harvest that spills over to others.

This is the Kingdom of God.

Thy Kingdom come dear Father, and Thy Will be done on earth as it is in Heaven.