Truth, Wisdom, and Love

Jesus ushered in an upside-down kingdom. This is why people were so confused by his purpose, plan, actions, and speech. Even his disciples who spent the most intimate time with him didn’t understand a lot of what he said. His kingdom is a turn-the-other-cheek, give-them-the-shirt-off-your-back, go-the-extra-mile, love-your-enemies, pray-for-those-who-persecute-you, first-will-be-last, pick-up-your-cross-and-die-daily kind of Kingdom. Jesus took everything we thought we knew about life and flipped it upside-down.  It is shocking when we live this way as followers of Christ. We have bought into the lie that his Kingdom is a be-nice, vote-correctly, attend-church, live-a-quiet-life kind of Kingdom, but Jesus’s kingdom is shocking. His call to consider others above ourselves requires us not just to forgive our enemies or ignore our enemies or tolerate our enemies, but love our enemies. How do we love our enemies? We look to Jesus who died on the cross for his enemies, all while they mocked and taunted him.  It is our job to advance this same Kingdom that Jesus established. When we start cursing those who disagree with us, spreading hate, putting ourselves above others, fighting back, and withholding our possessions, we start spreading the kingdom of the enemy instead. We have to know and be a part of God’s Kingdom in order to advance it. Are you a part of the kingdom? Reflection/Discussion Question: What comes to mind as you think about the different kind of Kingdom that Jesus came to bring?

A life of success keeps our focus on ourselves. A life of significance focuses on others. More than any other obstacles, we are our greatest obstacle to overcome when we want to pursue a life of significance. We focus on our own plans, dreams, and the vision we have for our own lives. We focus on the hurts and failures that have caused us to stumble and fall. We focus on what we want and can’t have.  To live a life of significance, we need to turn our focus from ourselves onto God. God is sovereign, powerful, all-knowing, loving, and gracious. When we know God and fix our eyes on him, we will see people differently. Instead of seeing people as objects to be used to achieve our goals, or obstacles in the way of our success, we see the vision God has created for their lives. We see what God can do in people and give our lives to that work instead. A life of significance says, “I know what God has done in my life and I see what he can do in yours. He has given me a vision for who you can become in him and I want to help you realize that.” We don’t have to be left in the dark when it comes to pursuing God’s vision for others’ lives. God is always available through prayer, we need only ask and we will receive. Reflection/Discussion Questions: Do you currently have a vision for someone else’s life? How is God calling you to be a part of that vision?