My Kingdom Come

Galatians 3:29 – And if you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham's offspring, heirs according to the promise. (NRSV)
Romans 8:14,17 – For all who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God. … and if children, then heirs, heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ. (NRSV)

In yesterday's devotional, I described my four-year-old daughter's version of the Lord's Prayer in church one Sunday: "Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be my name. My kingdom come…". My first thought was to correct her, but as the service progressed I began to think that perhaps she had stumbled on something rather profound.

Jesus told us to pray that God's kingdom would come. We do not know when this will happen, but we believe that it will. But as Paul tells us, if we belong to Christ and are led by the Holy Spirit, then we are children of God, and if we are children of God, then we are also heirs of God, heirs jointly with Jesus Christ.

What are we heirs of? We are to inherit God's kingdom. So God's kingdom will be our kingdom. When we pray, "Thy kingdom come", we are really praying for the coming of the kingdom that we will inherit as a part of the family of God.

This is surely one of the most wonderful aspects of our faith. If we live by God's Spirit, then through grace we will become heirs of God's kingdom. We will be able to call the kingdom of God our kingdom. Let us pray that God's kingdom — our kingdom — will come!

Prayer: Dear God, we thank you for making us your children, and for the promise that we will inherit your kingdom. Thy kingdom come. Amen.