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God’s REIGN: The Kingdom Among Us
I publish here to provide my readers with what I believe to be a powerful and useful way to engage God and the Bible. Please do not download and share. I pray you will be blessed and that in the blessing you will be inspired to advance God’s Kingdom through loving neighbor.
Purpose
Once we embrace the idea that our lives now have purpose beyond this age and that our actions today impact our experiential reality in the age to come, we will begin to think differently about how to spend our time, money, and emotional energy.
The village I spent my childhood in was perched between the jungle and a large lowland swamp formed by the Sepik River in northern Papua New Guinea. The people there were one generation removed from their stone-aged cannibalistic ancestors and were struggling to embrace Western technology as a means to stay alive in the battle against disease and the destructive power of the jungle around them. When my parents arrived in 1964, there had been eight years of anguish as 18 women gave birth to at least 23 babies, and not a single one lived past early childhood.
Prior to WWII, these people were at constant war with each other, so they lived hidden in small jungle hamlets, constantly moving around out of fear of being hunted. As Australia began enforcing order in the area, the lake became safer and provided more food and access to Western technologies. But they did not understand that the lake was also teaming with malaria-infested mosquitos. These babies had not built up sufficient immunity to survive their first year in this hostile world. When my engineer dad and nurse mom arrived in 1964, the most loving Kingdom act they could do for these people was help them survive malaria. By the time they returned to the United States to raise support in 1969, many children were thriving, and a church was born. God’s Kingdom purpose in that setting was practical, clean birthing techniques, good hygiene, and mosquito nets for nursing mothers. You can read this story in my book, From Fear to Freedom.D
More often than not, the manifestation of the kingdom life is practical love and good works. It is like James described in his letter to the churches:
“Who among you is wise and understanding? Let him show by his good behavior his deeds in the gentleness of wisdom.” James 3:13 NASB
Modern Western Protestant culture tends to separate out endeavors in terms of sacred and secular. We have pastors, missionaries, lay ministers, childcare workers, and a few other “holy vocations.” The rest of the jobs and efforts in the world are secular. We have decided that if people are sold out for God, they will leave their secular jobs and go into one of the sacred ones. I don’t think that is a useful way of thinking about the Kingdom Kind of Life. This is not how Augustine, Luther, or Calvin saw it. In all three of their writings they very clearly elevated all work as being done unto God and did not distinguish between sacred and secular jobs.
I grew up on the mission field and can tell you from firsthand experience that there are people who have given up their secular jobs to serve in sacred ones, doing those jobs on their own strength, without the manifest presence of the Holy Spirit. When that happens, the world is worse off for it. No one will be perfect, but what you do for a living is less important than how you do it. Once we learn to surrender our lives to God, it does not matter if we are digging ditches or teaching at a theological seminary; the difference will become evident to those around us.
This subject warrants much more exploration than I have given it in this text since it drives our understanding of our role in God’s Kingdom. Tim Keller’s book “Every Good EndeavorE” is focused on the idea that all work should be done for the Lord. I also recommend “Liturgy of the OrdinaryF” by Tish Harrison Warren as a resource to better understand how our ordinary everyday actions relate to the Kingdom Kind of Life.
One of the more famous examples of secular work done in a sacred way was a dishwasher in a convent commonly referred to as Brother Lawrence. The book written about him is called “The Practice of the Presence of GodG” The book describes a life so filled with joy and peace that everyone who comes in contact with Brother Lawrence is positively impacted by his presence. This is an obviously extreme case which we have a record of because the monastery leader took notes and wrote them down for us. But I have encountered many such people in my life. My father-in-law, Jerry Lewin, was one such person. He was a public High School math teacher, grandfather, choir singer, and men’s Bible study leader until he died of cancer at age 72. I will touch on his impact a little later.
Another such person that I had the privilege of knowing was John Chandler. John was a local church member who blessed our family by providing a guest room for my parents when they were in town. He was an insurance salesman, father, grandfather, and lay church leader. He passed on to the age to come more than 16 years ago, and yet still, his name comes forward as a shining light in the dark world by those who had the privilege of knowing him.
John and Mary Chandler were one of several couples who left Pomona First Baptist Church in 1979 to begin a new Church in the growing city of Rancho Cucamonga. These charter members visualized a large church on a hill and faithfully invested time and money making that dream a reality.
I met John and Mary on our first Sunday at Hillside Community Church in July of 1987. They were warm and welcoming. After church that first Sunday everyone stacked chairs and rolled out tables to turn the temporary trailer church into a restaurant serving cold cut sandwiches and salads. As the church grew, they led campaigns for sports fields and helped their grandchildren learn to play baseball, soccer, and basketball -all in the name of Jesus. They were involved in the church at every level and were always there with a smile and a welcome hand of fellowship. Their consistent presence and positive energy were attractive. Many people I have spoken to over the years point to John as the reason they stayed in church when this or that event discouraged them.
John and Mary communicated a love for people and love for life in the midst of John being slowly destroyed by ALS. Those that cared for John in that season speak with tearful reverence as they remember watching him grow more dependent on them while simultaneously becoming more and more filled with the Love of Jesus. They describe unexplainable joy, courage, and love for others that continues to inspire them long after his passing. When you ask the Hillside Community Church Senior Sunday School Class for the name of someone who lived life well, John Chandler stands out. He is remembered with fondness and a respect for his Christian faith.
Another example is my great-grandmother Florence. Florence turned to God passionately when her husband Winfred left her and her five children for another woman. The struggle of raising those children as a single mom in a difficult West Texas context drove her to become completely dependent on and devoted to God. She raised her children that way and inspired all five of them to grow up as fully devoted Christ followers.
While Florence never held a formal role as deacon or Pastor she told others about her Jesus until she was too old to travel. Once her children were grown and out of the house, she would pick a city on a map. She traveled there and found work as a housekeeper or maid. Then she visited local churches in the area until she found one that she felt was preaching the Gospel and nurturing believers. An acceptable church, in Florence’s mind, had to preach from the Bible on Sunday mornings, have a Sunday night service, and have a Wednesday night prayer meeting. Once she found the right church, Florence walked from door to door after work each day, inviting people to attend the church. Each year she picked a new city or town to live and work in. This was her way of spreading the Gospel. People who knew her were impacted positively by her passion for Jesus and the Gospel.
Jerry, John, and Florence’s lives illustrate that our vocation has less to do with our spiritual impact than living a life surrendered to, and aligned with, the Holy Spirit of God living inside us. As Christians, we have the All-Powerful God of the Universe living inside us, and, if we permit Him, he will shine forth with light that permeates our dark world.
Have you ever been in a completely dark room and had someone crack open a window to let sunlight in? A room with really good black-out curtains? As you pull back the curtains and let the light in, it permeates the whole room. That light is not selective about where it goes or who it benefits. It shines on everything and everyone in the dark room. The darker the room, the more drastic the transition to the light becomes. Our lives can be like that. We need only to open our hearts to the Holy Spirit and let him shine through us.
Now don’t get me wrong. We need preachers and missionaries; if you are willing, there are many opportunities to serve the kingdom that way. As Christians, we need to do all jobs enabled by the power of King Jesus through the person of the Holy Spirit.
Regardless of our vocation, be it dishwasher or preacher, our lives should be lived so that all those around us, our friends and our enemies, can see God’s light shining through us into their dark world.
Jesus said in the Great Sermon:
“But I say, love your enemies! Pray for those who persecute you! In that way, you will be acting as true children of your Father in heaven. For he gives his sunlight to both the evil and the good, and he sends rain on the just and the unjust alike.”
Matthew 5:44-45 NLT
To Know and Be Known
As a child of missionary parents, I grew up in and around churches and ministries. I grew up, married, and actively served in my local church. My whole life has been lived around church people. I can tell you firsthand that all of us are ugly sometimes, and some of us are ugly most of the time. I have pondered this reality for most of my life. Helping people move from ugly most of the time to ugly sometimes is what motivates me to write and teach. The best way that I can explain it is through the concept of knowing and being known.
Jesus said these words near the end of the Great Sermon:
“Not everyone who calls out to me, ‘Lord! Lord!’ will enter the Kingdom of Heaven. Only those who actually do the will of my Father in heaven will enter. On judgment day many will say to me, ‘Lord! Lord! We prophesied in your name and cast out demons in your name and performed many miracles in your name.’ But I will reply, ‘I never knew you. Get away from me, you who break God’s laws.’” Matthew 7:21-23 NLT
When we know someone well, we begin to anticipate their thoughts. We anticipate how they will feel in certain places or what they would say or do in a given circumstance. This is how it is supposed to be with us and God. But just like with people, knowing God takes time together in an active relationship. That means studying his words, reading about how he works with others, praying, listening, and seeking. Active relationships always take time. Jesus described it as a seed growing and bearing fruit. It takes time for a seed to grow into a mature fruit-bearing tree. It also takes diligence to guard against distractions and protect against outside influences.
He describes it this way in one of his stories:
“He told many stories in the form of parables, such as this one: ‘Listen! A farmer went out to plant some seeds. As he scattered them across his field, some seeds fell on a footpath, and the birds came and ate them. Other seeds fell on shallow soil with underlying rock. The seeds sprouted quickly because the soil was shallow. But the plants soon wilted under the hot sun, and since they didn’t have deep roots, they died. Other seeds fell among thorns that grew up and choked out the tender plants. Still other seeds fell on fertile soil, and they produced a crop that was thirty, sixty, and even a hundred times as much as had been planted! Anyone with ears to hear should listen and understand.” Matthew 13:3-9 NLT
Any farmer will tell you that waiting for the plant to grow and bear fruit takes time and patience. Farmers will also tell you that they have to protect the crop from creatures that would pluck away the seeds and weeds that would choke out the young plants. We are very impatient with the process of transformation. Like everything else in life, we want instantaneous results. That is not how our Christian life works.
This intimate knowing and being known – obeying, joyful, peace-filled, experiential reality that spills out to our communities – was something Jesus tried to explain in his last conversation with his disciples:
“Jesus replied, ‘All who love me will do what I say. My Father will love them, and we will come and make our home with each of them. Anyone who doesn’t love me will not obey me. And remember, my words are not my own. What I am telling you is from the Father who sent me. I am telling you these things now while I am still with you. But when the Father sends the Advocate as my representative—that is, the Holy Spirit—he will teach you everything and will remind you of everything I have told you. I am leaving you with a gift—peace of mind and heart. And the peace I give is a gift the world cannot give. So don’t be troubled or afraid.’” John 14:23-27 NLT
As Christians, our purpose on earth is to live each day with the understanding that we are acting as ambassadors for King Jesus, living out his Kingdom reality in the actual physical and relational context he has placed us in at that moment. There is a degree of uncertainty in what that looks like for each of us. In Paul’s famous love chapter (1 Corinthians 13), three key principles will provide practical guides in this endeavor.
- Love is the guiding principle behind our actions.
- There will always be uncertainty in this life – a dim image in a mirror.
- Don’t give up just because you have some uncertainty – continue in faith, hope, and love.
“By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” John 13:35 NIV
Life On the Rock 