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Do You Really Want God’s Kingdom?

NOT everyone, by any means, would answer “Yes” to that question. Today only one out of every 3.6 persons on earth makes the profession of being either Christian or Jewish in belief, hence being of a religion tacitly acknowledging the Sacred Scriptures that tell of God’s kingdom. Furthermore, not even all those who belong to the religions of Christendom and Judaism actually accept the Bible as the Word of God.

But you may be one who does​—and we hope you are. For the Bible alone gives the sound basis for believing that a righteous government will soon control all the earth. That government is God’s kingdom. By means of it God will answer the prayer, “Let your will take place, as in heaven, also upon earth.” (Matt. 6:10) When will this be? Thousands of years ago the Bible pointed to our very day, describing it in detail and foretelling that this would be the generation when God’s government would assume full control of all earth’s affairs.​—Dan. 2:44; Matt. 24:3, 7-14, 32-34.

We believe that you will agree that this troubled, polluted, crime-ridden earth needs relief such as only God can bring, and it needs it soon.

But for relief to come, the Bible shows that by means of God’s kingdom great changes must be made, affecting all those living on earth. Do you know what those changes are? Do you know what they will mean to you personally, how they will affect your life and, in fact, should be affecting it even now?

First of all, note that God’s kingdom comes to do​—not the will of the religious teachers of Christendom and Judaism, nor even the will of all the persons who may have prayed for God’s kingdom to come—​but it comes to carry out God’s will toward earth.

WHAT CHANGES DUE TO COME!

Tremendous changes must and will come. The inspired Scriptures foretell the domain of God’s kingdom to be one in which “righteousness is to dwell.” (2 Pet. 3:13) It is obvious that that will represent a great change from what now exists. To assure that his will is done, God has empowered his Son Jesus Christ as king, and of him it is written: “You loved righteousness, and you hated lawlessness. That is why God, your God, anointed you.” (Heb. 1:9) As king he will see that God’s righteous law is fully carried out. Just what will that mean?

The Bible tells us what some of the things are that will be brought to an end by the enforcement of God’s law. At 1 Corinthians 6:9, 10 it says: “Do you not know that unrighteous persons will not inherit God’s kingdom? Do not be misled. Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men kept for unnatural purposes, nor men who lie with men, nor thieves, nor greedy persons, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners will inherit God’s kingdom.” All such practices are unlawful from God’s viewpoint. So they will not be tolerated under the rule of God’s kingdom. Though God is patient with persons who earnestly seek to do his will, those who insist on practicing what he condemns “will not inherit God’s kingdom.”​—Gal. 5:19-21.

You can see, then, why many persons today really do not want God’s kingdom to rule over them. True, they may say that they want better conditions​—life free from war, economic insecurity, disease and violent crime. But they do not want to feel accountability to God for their personal way of life. A world in which immoral conduct is not tolerated does not appeal to them. They may say that they do not approve of lawlessness, but that applies only to certain kinds of lawlessness. They are not lovers of righteousness. As a result, they really do not want God’s kingdom.

LIVE NOW AS YOU WILL LIVE THEN

How do you feel about these things? Do you really long to see God’s kingdom remove all unrighteousness from the earth? If so, rich blessings are in store for you. But, to lay hold of those blessings, you must show your faith in God’s provision for life and demonstrate your love for righteousness by sincerely endeavoring to live now in harmony with God’s Word. Even now under the present system of things we must ‘deaden our body members’ as respects bad practices. Even now we must “really put them all away” from us​—not only sexual immorality but also “wrath, anger, badness, abusive speech, and obscene talk.” We must “not be lying to one another.” We must “strip off the old personality with its practices.” We must ‘clothe ourselves with the new personality,’ demonstrating genuine love for God and for our fellowman.​—Col. 3:5-14.

Is this truly what you want to do? If so, how can you go about it? By becoming “new in the force actuating your mind,” as the Bible says. (Eph. 4:20-24) This is not simply a matter of personally determining to be different from other people around you. Besides determination, you need to fill your mind regularly with the wholesome and faith-building truths found in God’s Word the Bible. In harmony with Romans 12:2, “quit being fashioned after this system of things, but be transformed by making your mind over, that you may prove to yourselves the good and acceptable and perfect will of God.”

If a person really wants God’s kingdom, is it not reasonable to learn all that he can about it, its laws and what is required in order to gain life under its righteous administration? Is that what you would like to do? Jehovah’s witnesses will be glad to assist you. They will gladly come to your home, each week, free of charge, to help you to gain this vital information from God’s Word. Do you really want life under God’s kingdom? Then, by all means make known your desire to learn more about it. Ask any of Jehovah’s witnesses in your locality, or write to the publishers of this magazine.