For the sake of the kingdom

Read Luke 18:24-30

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The coming of God’s kingdom is good news (Mk.1:15). And our own part in that is a huge privilege, causing us to “give thanks joyfully to the Father who has qualified us to share in the inheritance of the saints in the kingdom of light” (Col.1:12-14). That’s done by his free gift of grace. But though grace is free, it’s still costly, as Jesus consistently made clear (Mk.8:34-35; Lk.9:57-62).

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In particular, kingdom living will challenge our deep-rooted love of money (Mt.6:24) which is why material wealth is a stumbling block to entering God’s kingdom (18:25). God’s grace alone is able to overcome that reluctance, so that we see “he is no fool who gives what he cannot keep in order to gain what he cannot lose” (Jim Elliot – martyred in 1956). The short parables in Matthew 13:44-46 make the same point. Whatever is sacrificed “for the sake of the kingdom of God” will result in a far greater reward (18:28-30).

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So we pray for God’s kingdom to come in various particular ways in our world. But it’s also a prayer for our own lives – the risky prayer of asking God to show us which parts of our lives still need to be brought under his rule, and of asking for his grace to make that possible.