"Your Kingdom Come"

In part three of our Prayer Guide for Disciples of Christ series our emphasis is “your kingdom come” from the Lord’s Prayer. This petition can be difficult to understand apart from viewing it in light of Jesus’ teaching on the kingdom of God in the gospels. As I mentioned Sunday, Now and Later candy helps me to keep a balanced and biblical understanding of the kingdom of God. Everyone I grew up with loved Now and Later candy and would quote the slogan “eat some now and save some for later.” The makers of this candy believed that their customers would like them now and want more later.

In this petition Jesus wants his disciples to pray for two realities of God’s kingdom to come, present and future, now and later. The kingdom of God has a present reality, that is, the rule of God evident in the person and proclamation of Jesus. It is now in the life of God’s children, disciples of Christ, and Jesus’ followers. The kingdom of God has a future reality, that is, a future hope when the rule of God will be fully realized. It is later, a time when sin and the wicked will be done away with and death is destroyed. Just like the candy, the foretaste we’ve received through receiving the Holy Spirit should make us want more. The slogan for the candy has changed since my childhood. It is now “share the square”! Won’t you share the good news of God’s kingdom today