Years ago when someone mentioned the kingdom of God, I imagined a sparkling castle resting on a cloud in a place called heaven and thought we would find His kingdom only in the next life. After all, Jesus told Pilate, “My kingdom is not of this world. If My kingdom were of this world, My servants would fight… but now My kingdom is not from here.”

The point concerned the current location of the kingdom. True, it’s not of this world. But if not, then where is it? Jesus also answered that question:

The kingdom of God does not come with your careful observation,
nor will people say, ‘Here it is’ or ‘There it is,’
because the kingdom of God is within you.

What a treasure that’s hidden in earthen vessels! And it changes everything.

We have many “kingdoms” on earth—different kinds of governments. But only one kingdom will last forever, and only one King will rule when “the kingdoms of this world have become the kingdoms of our Lord and of His Christ, and He shall reign forever and ever!” (Rev. 11:15).

Yes, this changes everything. There’s a nation that worldly politics overlooks in its comings and goings and volleying for rights and control. Of course it’s not the USA. It doesn’t matter who the president is—even if Billy Graham were president—the US government isn’t the kingdom of God, not an everlasting kingdom. God uses it for His purposes, as He does all kingdoms, but one day it will fall.

No one is perfect enough to make God’s kingdom of peace happen on earth, no matter how great our efforts. Solomon tried. Cyrus tried. Stalin tried. Lincoln tried. We keep trying and trying to make peace happen, but no matter how successful our efforts, the god of this world keeps working overtime to bring more strife, more stealing, killing and destroying. That’s why it won’t work outside of Christ and His kingdom (John 10:10).

No government on earth can save even one soul. We pray for our governors that they rule with Christ’s wisdom, and God can use them, but we don’t depend on them to usher in God’s kingdom of peace. Politicians can choose whether to follow Christ’s wisdom in making governmental decisions, but they are broken people, living in a broken world, among broken people as we all are. We find our only hope in Christ and His coming kingdom that now resides on earth within His followers.

King Jesus rules a holy nation, a chosen generation who serves as a royal priesthood (I Pet. 2:9)—citizens and members of the household of God (Eph. 2:19)—Christ-followers stationed all over the world, rich and poor, free and oppressed, young and old, many peoples, tribes, tongues, and nations (Rev. 11:19)—whom Jesus knows intimately, because they do the will of His Father (Matt. 7:21-23). We are citizens of this kingdom.

World politics doesn’t pivot on any earthly nation, but on the nation of Christ-followers. The world revolves around the body of Christ. Our King’s hand influences everything in politics toward the coming of His kingdom. He’s building us as living stones into a spiritual house, a holy priesthood (1 Pet. 2:5), that He’s redeemed with His blood, out of every tribe and tongue and people and nation, ordaining us as kings and priests to our God to reign on the earth with Him forever (Rev. 5:9-10).

In this world, our King provides for us the joy of “various trials, knowing that the testing of our faith produces patience, so patience can have its perfect work, and we can be complete, lacking nothing” (James 1:3-4), “that He might present us to Himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that we should be holy and without blemish” (Eph. 5:27).

Christ’s nation is the real world, the only kingdom that cannot be shaken. Our King works His strategy into each of our lives, in each of our callings, in each of our areas of influence, commissioning us as His body to carry His kingdom into our areas of responsibility. As we live and work and carry out our callings, we bring His wisdom and love into every situation, conversation and interaction, drawing more people into His kingdom.

So the question we each face: How does our King call us to influence this world as citizens with allegiance toward His eternal Kingdom?