Kingdom Come: Our Longing
It’s risky to talk about kingdoms. The moment we bring up authority, government, or power, hearts divide and defenses rise. We all carry scars from promises broken and leaders who let us down. Yet underneath the noise and cynicism, I think we all long for a ruler who is truly good.
That longing is older than politics. It’s written into creation itself. When Jesus taught His disciples to pray in Matthew 6:10, “Your kingdom come, Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven,” He was teaching them to direct that ache toward the only King who can heal it. Every time we echo those words, we’re confessing two things: that the world is not as it should be, and that we still believe it will be made right.
As a history lover, I’ve read enough to know this longing is nothing new. Empires have promised peace before. Rome called it the Pax Romana; others have followed with their own slogans and symbols of greatness. Each one began with hope and ended in dust. Yet in every century, the church has learned again that no empire can outlast the kingdom of heaven.
Still, it’s hard not to pin our hopes somewhere. We care about our country, our freedoms, our children’s future, and rightly so. I want us to be wise and see that we can love the place where we live without mistaking it for the place we’re going. We cannot allow our hope in Christ’s return to be replaced by fear about who holds office or despair about where the world is headed.
We just heard on Sunday where Jesus tells a story about ten bridesmaids looking for the bridegroom to arrive (Matthew 25:1–13). Some were wise, keeping their lamps filled and ready, and others were foolish, living as though the bridegroom’s delay meant He wasn’t coming at all. That parable is about longing well. The wise waited with anticipation while the foolish wasted their waiting. In the same way, our longing for God’s kingdom isn’t passive or idle. It’s active, watchful, faithful.
As we wind to a close on this sermon series where we have seen the many treasures of God’s Kingdom, I want to provide a place for us to reflect and respond as we transition to a new but related study. I’ve called this Kingdom Come, because it is an invitation to look up with longing. Not to predict or debate, but to remember. The true King has already come, and He will come again. History moves at His command. Nations rise and fall at His word. The church’s task is not to build another earthly tower but to bear faithful witness until the sky breaks open and the King appears.
So this week, I want to encourage you to resist the urge to “solve” the world. Instead, let this kingdom longing do its holy work. Don’t waste your waiting. Pray that part of the Lord’s Prayer slowly. Let its words find their way into your heart: “Your kingdom come, Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.”
And as you pray, remember: longing for the Kingdom isn’t escapism. It’s faith in motion. The ache you feel for justice, for peace, and for beauty is a sign that the Spirit of the King already lives in you. Because when the Bridegroom returns, He won’t just ask if we waited, He’ll ask what we did with what He gave us while we waited.
Coming next week:
When Kingdoms Collide: the call to be faithful stewards of the King’s treasures until He returns.