“Your kingdom come…”

Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. (Revelation 21:1)

Henry French writes, “When we think about the coming of the kingdom, we think of human life brought to perfection.” (p 47)

We get an image from scripture of the kingdom of heaven being perfect, a place where death will be no more, mourning and crying and pain will be no more, for the first things have passed away. It is certainly something to which we look forward. Perfection, no suffering, is what we are promised.

But the kingdom of heaven has broken in to our imperfect world in the person of Jesus to remind us that although we anticipate perfection, we live now in a world that falls short of that perfection and even still, the kingdom is among us.

Tonight, I am writing late, after the lights should be out. But I am waiting for my deliciously fragrant broth to finish simmering on the stove so I can strain the vegetables out and have the makings of a lovely homemade soup for dinner tomorrow night. While I wait, I’m watching the March snowstorm blow against my windows, and I’m so thankful for a warm house and the relative peace inside.

Do you remember the apocalyptic groups who were trying through violence in late 1999 to bring about the second coming of Jesus, and the end of the world? Even if they could have had some kind of influence on that event, I wonder why they would have wanted to end their short time on earth. By paying attention to the way that God breaks into the world in the small but amazing pieces of our everyday lives, we get a glimpse of the kingdom. It is here, among us.

Prayer for today

God, help us to see how you have broken into the world to show us the kingdom in our everyday lives. We thank you for the gifts that you give us during our short time here, and we wait with great anticipation for the perfection of the time when we will see you face to face. Amen.