Callum’s dad promised to build him a treehouse, and even when he had to leave for a business trip to France, that promise didn’t drift across the ocean. Callum never pictured a treehouse rising somewhere in Paris; he knew exactly where it belonged.
He understood his dad would build it in their own backyard when he came home—right there in the tree he could see from his bedroom window. The promise wasn’t about Callum going to France to climb up in his treehouse; it was about his dad building it for him right where he had always lived, and that was enough for Callum to wait with confidence.
Kingdom Come
In the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus taught his followers how to pray.
Matthew 6:9–10
After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.
See? The kingdom comes here; we don’t go to the kingdom.
Just like Callum’s dad promised a treehouse, God promised His people a kingdom of perfect goodness and justice—not far away somewhere in outer space with floating clouds and angels playing harps, but right here on earth.
The King
Jesus is God’s chosen King for the promised kingdom. After He returns and we are raised and given new bodies, Jesus will begin establishing that kingdom here on earth. And we will help Him.
A king and a kingdom had been promised to Israel for many years, and they waited for it to finally come. But when the King came with the offer of the kingdom to Israel, they refused to believe it and rejected both the King and the kingdom. In fact, they helped to crucify and kill their promised King, Jesus.
But that didn’t mean the promise of the kingdom would be set aside or forgotten. God will keep His promise to His people of a grand and glorious kingdom and a good, powerful, and perfect King when Jesus Christ returns.
Matthew 8:11
And I say to you that many will come from east and west, and sit down with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven.
When Jesus returns and we are brought to life and given new bodies, He will set up the kingdom on earth that God promised His people, Israel—then what? We’ll dig into that next.
Child of God, husband, father, grandfather, rabblerouser, songwriter, pot stirrer, waiting for the King.