This is the beginning of The Lord’s Prayer as told in Matthew’s gospel. But the Common English Bible makes more of a point of God’s Kingdom being here and now. The request to God is “Bring in your kingdom.” Jesus makes the point that the kingdom of God or, as it is described in other places as the kingdom of heaven, is not simply something to look forward to at the end of our lives but something to live out every day.

Jesus does not describe the kingdom in terms of jeweled gates or golden streets. Rather, he speaks of it in terms of mustard seeds, buried treasure, lost coins, fishnets, a wedding feast, yeast, or a farmer spreading seeds. These are things his audiences lived with every day, not something they imagine in the future. The kingdom of God is here and now.

All this is not to say that heaven is not important; but Jesus’ focus, his teaching and miracles had more to do with meeting the needs of the daily lives of people and serving them in love.

In fact, Jesus tells us in Matthew 25 that the final exam for kingdom living is how we feed the poor, offer drink to the thirsty, show hospitality to the stranger, clothe and visit the needy and imprisoned, and care for the sick. These things have less to do with proper theology and more to do with how we live our lives and love our neighbors. This is how God’s will is done on earth as it is in heaven. Let this be our fervent prayer.

Father God, bring in your Kingdom. Show us every day how to experience kingdom living by how we love and care for each other with Jesus as our ultimate example. It’s in his name we pray. Amen.

This devotional was written and read by Charlie Barton

Grace for All is a daily devotional podcast produced by the members of the congregation of First United Methodist Church in Maryville, Tennessee. With these devotionals, we want to remind listeners on a daily basis of the love and grace that God extends to all human beings, no matter their location, status, or condition in life.

If you would like to respond to these devotionals in any way, we would enjoy hearing from you. Our email address is: podcasts@1stchurch.org.

First United Methodist Church is a lively, spirit-filled congregation whose goal is to spread the message of love and grace into our community and throughout the world. We are located on the web at https://1stchurch.org/.