Pastoral Page

In the Lord’s Prayer, Jesus Christ our Lord teaches us thus to pray: “Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth, as it is in heaven.” (Matthew 6:10) This kingdom of God is, as Isaac Watts (1674-1748) puts it, “Jesus shall reign where’er the sun/Doth his successive journeys run/ His kingdom spread from shore to shore, /Till moon shall wax and wane no more.”

The Kingdom of God is where Jesus Christ is proclaimed as Lord and Savior, where the Gospel of salvation and eternal life is freely offered to all, where every person is free to respond to the love and forgiveness of God offered in Jesus Christ.

In reality, this Gospel of God’s love and forgiveness in Jesus Christ needs to be carried by human agents to the people. As Romans 10:14 reasoned: “How can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them?” Hence, the role of missionaries is indispensable in expanding the kingdom of God.

The Lord’s Prayer further affirms that this is what the Lord desires. As some Biblical scholars point out, the kingdom of God is where God’s will is accomplished on earth as it is in heaven. What is more evident of the will of God than wanting to see us saved in Christ? “This is good, and pleases God our Savior, who wants all men to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth.” (1 Timothy 2:3-4)

When we have the attitude of Christ (Philippians 2:5) and see things from God’s perspective, we will see the importance of mission and augment our support for missionaries and mission work. We can do so by praying, giving, and going.

It is my prayer that the message and testimony of Merle and Claudia will touch our lives with such power that we will always keep the kingdom perspective strong, just as the First Chinese Church of Christ has been so doing for more than one and a quarter of a century.

With Love for Christ Jesus, Pastor Ling

Yours in Christ,

Pastor Ling