The Kingdom of God has often been described as an upside-down kingdom. And that description of it being “upside down” is true insofar as it describes the way we see the kingdom now—as through a glass darkly—through the lens of our fallen nature.
But I would suggest, that the Kingdom is in fact not upside down. The Kingdom of Heaven is upright, and we are the ones who are inverted.
The values, ethics, and virtues of heaven align with goodness, truth, and beauty, while fallen, sinful, man-made kingdoms are the ones that have it all backward.
In the true and upright kingdom of God the “last will be first, and the first last” (Matthew 20:16). In this kingdom, it is the humble who inherit the earth (Matthew 5:5) and the rich who are sent away empty (Luke 1:53). A kingdom where the least of these are the most valued, and the most humble are the most powerful.
The glory of the kingdom of heaven has been manifest to us through the Gospel of Jesus, who “is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power.” (Hebrews 1:3 ESV)
And “…who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.”
(Philippians 2:6–8 ESV)
Let’s glory together in the Kingdom of Heaven as we sing of Jesus’ incarnation and gospel.