He will give us the kingdom - by Philippa Linton

Image by Jill Wellington on Pixabay

I recently discovered the Lectio 365 prayer app, which has been put together by leaders of the 24-7 Prayer movement in partnership with CWR (Crusade for World Revival).   I am loving it.   Every day I am struck afresh by something in Scripture, or an insight given by the person leading the daily devotional on the app.  

For the daily devotional for 29 April,  I was particularly struck by Jesus’ words to his disciples in Luke 12: 32:

“Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father has been pleased to give you the kingdom.” (NIV-UK)

Or, as the New Living Translation puts it:

   

“So don’t be afraid, little flock. For it gives your Father great happiness to give you the Kingdom.”

What IS the kingdom?  - it’s the rule and reign of Jesus.  And wherever Jesus is, there is perfect joy, perfect love, perfect peace, perfect justice.  His kingdom stretches back through time and looks ahead to perfect consummation.

This is our inheritance.  We await its fulfilment, when the kingdom comes in all its fullness and the earth and the heavens are remade and restored to their original vision.  But we can start living in the kingdom now, because Christ is with us in the here and now.   The kingdom is NOW.  It’s wherever and whenever we embrace our calling as the sons and daughters of God.  Whenever we show his love to the world, doing whatever we can for justice and peace and reconciliation, caring for the planet, caring for the vulnerable and the oppressed, caring for each other … and embracing all the gifts God has given us.

Including our gift of writing, our gifts of words. 

Our Heavenly Father is a ‘good, good Father’, as the song says.  He is so glad to give us the kingdom.  He LOVES to give us the kingdom.   It’s right there.  All we have to do is embrace it, because the ‘kingdom of God is within you’ (Luke 17: 21).

Jane Clamp’s wonderful post yesterday, ‘Writers Unleashed!’ was a tonic to the soul.  Because I am truly burned out.  Burned out by the psychological effects of isolation.  Worrying about my current role as a lay minister and whether I’m doing enough to support my church during this time of lockdown.  Deeply concerned about the long-term effects of this pandemic on our nation and the world.  I have hardly any energy to read, let alone write.

But the honesty of the writers on this blog is refreshing.  It seems that so many of us are suffering from all, or some of the above, and it’s hardly surprising.  So I thank you, my fellow ACW writers and pilgrims, for your talent, your creativity, and for all the inspiring, helpful posts, prayers and writing tips you put out there.  

May God bless us in all that we write, and in all that we write for him.

It is his good pleasure to give us the kingdom.  We are, indeed, more than writers.  We are princes and princesses in his kingdom.  Even if we find it very hard to write just now … that truth will never change.


Philippa Linton is a lay minister in the Anglican church.  Her day job is working in the education and learning department of the United Reformed Church in London.  She has written a devotional for the anthology 'Light for the Writer's Soul' published by Media Associates International, and her short story 'Magnificat' appears in the ACW Christmas anthology 'Merry Christmas Everyone'.