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“It is well to live in the valley sweet,
Where the work of the world is done,
Where the reapers sing in the fields of wheat,
As they toil till the set of sun.
But beyond the meadows the hills I see,
Where the noises of traffic cease,
And I follow a voice that calleth to me
From the hilltop regions of peace.
“Aye, to live is sweet in the valley fair,
And to toil till the set of sun;
But my spirit yearns for the hilltop’s air
When the day and its work are done;
For a Presence breathes o’er the silent hills,
And its sweetness is living yet;
The same deep calm all the hillside fills
As breathed over Olivet.”
Our Lord spoke a great deal of a kingdom that is not of this world. He said this kingdom does not come with observation; that is, men do not see its progress; it makes no display of pomp and pageant. He said it is not an outward kingdom, but that its realm is within men’s hearts and lives. It was this kingdom which Christ Himself came to establish and which He sent His disciples to win for Him. He is the King. He sets up no throne in any earthly capital — His throne is in heaven. All who own Christ as master are subjects of this kingdom, not of this world. Saint Paul puts it very clearly when he says, “Our citizenship is in heaven.” Those who belong to Christ are citizens of a heavenly commonwealth.
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