You may or may not know that Jesus’ favorite thing to talk about was the kingdom of God. My simple definition of God’s kingdom is “a place of authority and safety.” God gets the authority, and God provides the safety. You submit to Jesus. Jesus saved you. If you believe that, the kingdom is within you.
Recently, I realized how much of the Lord’s Prayer is about that very thing. Jesus taught us to pray, “Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us today our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one” (Matthew 6:9-13).
Did you notice all the authority? We are praying for God’s name, God’s kingdom, and God’s will (not our name, our kingdom, and our will). Some people add a conclusion that declares that the “kingdom, power, and glory” are God’s too! And did you notice all the safety? Our loving Father saves us from starvation with daily bread, saves us from damnation with forgiveness of sins, and saves us from temptation by delivering us from the evil one’s lies.
Authority + Safety. That’s the kingdom of God. What a glorious kingdom for our hearts to live in!
