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The good news of the Kingdom of God affects every aspect of my life, including my politics. It underlies every aspect of my thought (at least I try for it to). I try to be a witness for the Kingdom of God in all that I do. I try to value the concerns of God over the concerns of humankind (Mark 8:33). Jesus and his Kingdom take precedence over my nation, my family, my church, my money, my job, my house, my hobbies, my appetites, my wants, my dreams, my life (Luke 9:59-62). If I must choose to forsake Jesus or another, I will choose my King, Jesus -- I am his slave (1 Cor. 7:22). So, in making political decisions I try to determine what's best for the Kingdom of God, not my nation, or myself, or my family. My wife knows this, and she feels the same way. Besides, this is the way to life and blessing.

The Kingdom of God is the rule of God. One day Jesus will return to Earth. He will overthrow all kingdoms; he will establish his complete and perfect rule. He will restore humanity; he will restore the heavens and the Earth. He will shape everything according to his will on Earth as it is in Heaven. There will then be peace and prosperity for all peoples forever. This is the good news. God has seen our degradation and misery; he sent his son to proclaim the good news about the coming Kingdom, and to make a way for all of us to be reconciled to God so that we may enter into that Kingdom. In order to do this we must trust Jesus' message. We must trust him when he says our ways are leading to death, and his way will lead us to life. We must turn from our ways and follow him.

Though God's Kingdom has broken into our world through the person of Jesus and the establishment of his community of followers, it has not yet come in fullness. At present the church/Jesus' followers are meant to live in such a way that they demonstrate what God's coming Kingdom will be like. We, though flawed and imperfect, are meant to serve a prophetic role proclaiming through word and deed the good news of the present and coming Kingdom of God. We cannot force the values of the Kingdom upon others, but we serve as a test group to expose those values. Through our lives we may entice others to embrace God's Kingdom, its values, its concerns, its King. Only those things that contribute to the Kingdom of God will have eternal value and worth. This is my understanding of the Kingdom of God. This to me is (or should be) the most important concern of my life.

Therefore, I will attempt to conduct my political, social, and familial life in such a way that above all else I reveal the Kingdom of God. Presently I don't always do a very good job in the way I spend money and time. But, I'm trying.

Here's a really good link to an explanation of the kingdom on a really good Christian site -- everything I've listened to there has been great. He talks about the Kingdom in the second half of this the podcast. Check it out.

http//www.internetmonk.com/archive/internet-monk-radio-podcast-149