Someone Else's Worldნიმუში

"Now after John was arrested, Jesus came into Galilee, proclaiming the gospel of God, and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel." Mark 1:14-15 ESV

At a young age, I realized I was living in "someone else's world." Typically, it would be my father's world. He rightly (and sometimes wrongly) called the shots. When he was happy, we 9 children were happy. When he was safe and not angry, I was secure. His actions and words directly affected my thoughts, life, and worldview as a young person.

This idea of living in "someone else's world" grew as I grew. I quickly noticed that I was influenced, coerced, and sometimes forced to live in a world someone else constructed for me. Even in my "autonomy," I must pump gas at someone else's station. I grab my coffee from someone else's business. I am under a government run by someone else. There are billions of minds attempting to construct the world their way and showing their building plans to every person they come across.

Of course, there is a reality governed by God's laws of nature. I am in no way suggesting a Matrix reality and pluralism. However, there is the Truth of God and man's perspectives. While the Truth of God can always be relied upon, man's perspectives can quickly become faulty, fractured, and sometimes downright evil.

In our culture, we live in a delusion of control. We have been given and cultivated the idea that we are somehow Sovereign and can manifest our lives as we want them to. Of course, there is basic logic—if you work hard, be kind, and attempt to grow as a person, many accolades of life may go well for you.

But hard work doesn't predict a layoff. Kindness doesn't guarantee a tree won't fall on your house. Personal growth won't heal cancer.

So what do we do? In the midst of all of these other worlds, ideologies, perspectives, and influences? Whose world do we turn to...and how?

In Mark 1:14-15, Jesus offers us a world NOT of THIS world. Instead, He offers us a Kingdom, NOW and to come. Christ's Kingdom is the source of Truth, teeming with life and abundance. The mind of God influencing our lives is the current we must step into if we want to go where He wants us to go - His Kingdom.

How do we step into this Heavenly Kingdom and leave our little world behind?

THINK ABOUT IT:

1. Who do I get up early for & stay up late for? What/Who is my world all for?

2. Do I truly want to trade the limited fractured, comfortable, and unreliable world for the True, permanent, adventurous Kingdom of God?

PRAYER PROMPT:

Father, give me the courage to loosen the grip of the "little kingdoms" humanity has made and embrace Your Everlasting Kingdom from this day forth and forevermore.

Someone Else's World - Crosstowne Church