A Thought From South Africa - ’Thy Kingdom Come’ (By Francis Taylor)

Thy Kingdom Come

By Frances Taylor

Luke 17:20-21

And when he was demanded of the Pharisees, when the kingdom of God should come, he answered them and said, The kingdom of God cometh not with observation: Neither shall they say, Lo here! or, lo there! for, behold, the kingdom of God is within
You.

There are always passages that we read and don’t stop to think about.  This one is sandwiched between the healing of the ten lepers and the search for signs of the end of the world.  Let’s think about this – the Kingdom of God is within you.  Aren’t we always asking for God’s Kingdom to come?  So, what does this mean to you?  It’s kind of surprising to read this and find out that what you’ve been looking for you already have!  Now, all we need to do is figure out what that means.  What do you imagine the Kingdom to be like?  I think in terms of love, peace, and connecting with those who have died.  Some of this I know I can have here.  I can choose to love and not hate.  I can choose to be peaceful amidst the chaos of the world around me.  I can choose to spend time with those I love, and talk to those who have gone before and ask them to pray for me and for those that they loved on earth.  I believe that the Kingdom is both now and still to come.  I think we practice for what will be and we do that mainly by loving.  If God is love and when we live in God, we live in love.  If we will be filled with love in the Kingdom, I want my container – my spirit – to be as large as it can be to hold all the love it can.  Now, I may be a bit fanciful, but Jesus didn’t fill us in as to how the Kingdom is both within us and to come, so I guess I can picture it the way I want.  Fill in your picture and see how you answer the question for yourself. 

Prayer

 Lord, how much you want us to be with you.  You have given us both the promise of the Kingdom to come and the message that it is within us now.  Help us to build your Kingdom here on earth for all to see. Amen.