Kingdom

In many of the locations Christians live, the word “kingdom” is confusing. When a misunderstood word is used to describe a difficult concept, the result can be bewildering. Pilate was a man who served the most powerful earthly leader at that time in a land that stretched far and wide, (an area that served and depended on a ruler or king for leadership and protection – a kingdom). When he asked Jesus about the intentions of him and his followers by using the word “kingdom”, he was thinking of anything that was a threat to his earthly responsibilities in Rome’s kingdom. But, "Jesus answered, “My kingdom is not of this world. If my kingdom were of this world, my servants would have been fighting, that I might not be delivered over to the Jews. But my kingdom is not from the world.”- John 18:36 (NLT). Now Pilate was confused; this was not an attack he knew how to fight, he didn’t even understand the concept. Those who live in a free society struggle with the concept of “kingdom” also. Jesus’ interests did not lie in the things most people understood when the word “kingdom” was used, control and prestige. The kingdom of which Jesus spoke was a spiritual kingdom, the desires and goals of men and women. This kingdom desires to guide the hearts of humans through any and all actions in which they engage. When a person declares Jesus in their savior from earthly failings, the Holy Spirit comes to live within them and help them to modify their wants and desires to match those declared by God to please Him.