Alan Redpath’s quote from yesterday still reverberates through my mind. He said, “You cannot pray ‘Thy kingdom come’ until you can say ‘My kingdom go.’”
This is the crux of why Jesus is rejected. It isn’t so much that He is seen as evil, or bad, even though some speak of Him that way. It is more like, “I will rule my own life, thank you.” It is the same spirit of independence that shows up in a child: “I will do it myself” and in a teen who rebels against all rules, or a middle-aged person who still runs red lights and gets speeding tickets, or a senior who cannot fend for themselves but refuses to move into a care facility, never mind give up that driving license.
Yet even the meeker, compliant people say NO to Him. In my experience, saying ‘my kingdom go’ requires brokenness, failure, a deep sense of ‘I cannot do this myself’ even though many claim to have gladly yielded. Do all eventually discover what Paul realized?
For we know that the law is spiritual, but I am of the flesh, sold under sin. For I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate. Now if I do what I do not want, I agree with the law, that it is good. So now it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me. For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh. For I have the desire to do what is right, but not the ability to carry it out. For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I keep on doing. Now if I do what I do not want, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me. (Romans 7:14–20)
No wonder Jesus came; we need a Savior to deliver us from this powerful thing called sin. And when I pray, “Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven” (Matthew 6:10) I am asking Jesus to have His way in my heart as well as in this world. He must work in me “to will and to do His good pleasure” (Philippians 2:13) for I know that apart from Him, I will rule my own life — and that can ruin all the goodness of living in this abundant life that Jesus gives.
Today’s devotional uses a poem to explain what “Your kingdom come” is like even though we will not fully get it until we experience it in eternity. The poem is “His Coming to Glory,” written by hymn writer Frances Havergal . . .
Oh the joy to see Thee reigning,
Thee, my own beloved Lord!
Every tongue Thy name confessing,
Worship, honor, glory, blessing
Brought to Thee with glad accord;
Thee, my Master and my Friend,
Vindicated and enthroned;
Unto earth’s remotest end
Glorified, adored, and owned.
Most prayers are requests that God will help fulfill our plans. I easily ask for help with this or that, or that He enables others to do their thing instead of praying “Your kingdom come” as a request for Him to reign instead of me. How impertinent to tell God Almighty what He should be doing for me instead of yielding my life and seeking what I should be doing to glorify Him.
Dear Jesus, one thing I have discovered is that when my will is surrendered and I stop thinking of what I want and ask You to have Your way, life becomes an adventure, never a cruel shock or a disappointment. I’m such a slow learner, yet thankful that You are such a patient Teacher. I’m thankful that one day You will reign on this earth and Your kingdom will come — in a great and glorious manner beyond all I can ask or imagine!
MORE: Read and study Ephesians 4:17–5:5. Consider what the will of God means for my life.
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