The Story of the Kingdom

There was once a king, his wife, and his small son who lived in their home country. They were very wealthy, owning many thousand acres in their homeland. Theirs was a happy life, but all that would change soon.

During the summer, they would take a family vacation. This particular summer, they visited a small tropical island. It was a delightful atmosphere and had many attractions. Daily they and their personal protection people would go shopping and visit the local attractions. Finally, it was almost time to go home, and they were in a large shop filled with many tourists and local villagers enjoying the day. Unfortunately, during this joyful day, tragedy came. Their small son was missing!

Thinking the small boy had wandered, the king immediately notified all personal guards, who began searching. It seemed the impossible had happened. The guards searched everywhere but could not find him. Finally, the king called the police. However, the police did not find their son either. Eventually, they had to accept the fact that their son was missing.

After arranging for the search to continue, they departed for their home country. They thought perhaps he had been kidnapped, but no one attempted to contact them, even though the parents offered a considerable reward.

Many years passed, but the parents continued searching. Finally, when all hope of his recovery seemed lost, they received word that the authorities had found their son. It had been almost twenty years.

They dropped all other plans and set sail to the island where they had lost their son. They had faithfully visited every year just so they could feel closer to him, and perhaps by some miracle, they might stumble upon him, but it had never happened.

They had made prior arrangements to meet with the young man to confirm his identity. Nobody but them knew that He had a birthmark on his shoulder that would, without dispute, prove whether or not it was him. They never made that information public to prevent fraudulent claims. It was a very emotional time for them. COULD THIS POSSIBLY BE THEIR MISSING SON???

After meeting him, they asked the young man to say something about himself. He said that when he was small, he lived with some people who claimed they were his parents but did not treat him well. He had run away at ten years old and lived on the street from that time onward. He begged and stole food, slept wherever he could, and managed to survive in any way he could manage. It was a difficult life. However, he did not claim to be their son and had no memory of them.

They then told the young man about the birthmark and asked him to remove his shirt. THERE IT WAS. THE PARENTS COULD CLEARLY SEE THE BIRTHMARK OF THEIR SON. AT LAST, THEY HAD FOUND HIM!!! WHAT JOY FILLED THEIR SOULS. THEIR SON THEY HAD ONCE LOST, WAS NOW FOUND.

Their son had been living as a street urchin when he was heir to billions of dollars and could afford anything his heart desired. He had many personal servants and guards to protect and care for his every need. He was also heir to his father's kingdom.

The first thing the son had to do was accept the truth of his identity. These were his parents, and as the son of a king, he was born a king. His identity placed him in the kingdom. He was a rightful citizen and the son of that country's king.

His new identity had also given his life a new purpose. Upon his return to their castle and home, the son immediately began training to become a king. This preparation would take a few years, but he was assigned many teachers to help him accomplish this mission and teach him the ways and culture of his homeland.

There was much joy and a grand celebration throughout the kingdom when they broadcast the news.

TODAY I HAVE BROUGHT YOU GOOD NEWS. YOUR FATHER HAS BEEN SEARCHING FOR YOU. YOU ARE THE SON OF A GREAT KING (Revelation 1:6) AND AN HEIR TO HIS KINGDOM (Luke 12:32).

Your Father has given you everything needed for life and godliness (2 Peter 1:3) as soon as you confess your identity as His son and break your identification with the world. Hint: The world named us Christians at Antioch, and accepting their identity creates a roadblock to your benefits.

You have a new purpose in life. God gave you the Holy Spirit to train you as an ambassador, king, and priest. Isaiah said His kingdom in you would increase forever.