On this beautiful Sunday morning I want to reflect on this section of our Lord’s Prayer ‘thy kingdom come’. Three words put together in a very succinct manner.
In the preceding statement it says ‘our father who art in heaven hallowed be thy name’. We believe that God created the heaven and the earth. Let us consider them two kingdoms, the kingdom of heaven and the kingdom of earth. So by implication God is the king over the kingdom of heaven. Remember kings rule over kingdoms. All rulers are leaders but not all leaders are rulers.
In our prayer, we want the kingdom of heaven to come down to earth. We want God’s rulership over our earthly business. In essence we want the heaven to colonize the earth in such a way that we do on earth what they do and how they do things in heaven. That is profound.
When Britain colonized most of Africa, they introduced british culture, their language, their dressing, their food, their education, their religion…Lagos became a small London if your get my drift. The first time I visited Toronto, the best way I could explain to my folks in London was that it is a small version of London. Even the underground railway is a small replica of London. That is what colonization does. So when we say ‘thy kingdom come’ we want the language, the culture. the religion, the rulership of heaven on earth.
A kingdom is an area delineated for a king to rule over. We still have a few kingdoms but let us stay with the English. The Queen of England rules over her kingdom. Part of your tax payer’s money funds her lifestyle and pays her bills. She is on the money you spend so it actually belongs to her technically. Although they have prime minister and members of parliament, she has a voice in how things run in her kingdom and you better sing ‘God save the Queen’. She still reaches out to countries of the common wealth and checks on them. That is rulership. She was not voted in by the people, she inherited the throne as a heir and so will Charles and Bill. Even if you don’t like them, they are heirs and not by any special skills or expertise. They can become unpopular if they follow the path of dishonor but to take the throne from them will take a lot and cost a lot, including lives.
In every kingdom there is the king and his subjects. In scripture we see that kings are actually allowed to rule. ‘By wisdom kings rule’. They can technically command their subjects, impose rules, exercise authority and dominate. Kings can get or take what they want one way or another. They can get away with what others dare not try. As a subject you know better than to challenge the king or even be interested in a lady he is interested in or a piece of property he wants. Back in the day certain kings get the first choice of marriageable maidens in their kingdom. Virgins are prepared and decorated to display their beauty so the king would choose the ones he wants. It probably still happens somewhere in Southern Africa, maybe Swaziland.
This tells us what God is capable of. He can command, He can dictate, He can take what He wants. The earthly kings didn’t create nothing but they want to control everything. God created everything but he gave us power to control everything. He delegated his power to rule on us. He made us kings and princes on earth to rule over all of His creation. That is a privilege. The lions, elephants, guerillas and whales are stronger than man yet man rules the earthly kingdom. How did queen qualify to be queen? Same way you are qualified to be king in your world… so why are you not ruling?
It appears that most of the leaders in Africa want to be rulers instead of leaders… and some of them have become ‘inanimate’….no empathy, no honesty, no respect for the individuals, no respect for the voiceless, inauthentic, no regard for goodwill, selfish and unpatriotic and in fact ‘gods’. They want to live forever(as god)…and maybe eat money in their graves too. Unfortunately ’Inanimate’ leaders are dead while they think they still live.
But ours is a kingdom under a kingdom. Even though man is king on the earth, the earth is subject and a colony of the kingdom of heaven. As a colony, man has to take instruction and do the bidding of heaven. When that happens, then the heaven has come to earth. That is how the prayer ‘thy kingdom come’ becomes an experience. When the kingdom of God comes, life will be good. As soon as man meets the expectations and prescriptions of heaven this prayer will be answered. To rule, man has to meet and exceed the expectations of heaven.
How are we doing with that desire and what are we doing on earth to attract the kingdom of heaven to bear on the earth? Until and unless we allow God He will not intrude in our business even though He is interested in our affairs. Think about this as you enjoy the rest of your day.
Mezie Okolo is the leadership analyst. www.mezieokolo.com