Seeing The KingdomSample

All Things New The first Christians were said to have turned their world upside-down (Acts 17:1-9). They did not adhere to the accepted moral standards, low and loose as they had become. They scoffed at the idea that the political powers of the day should have the last word on all things true and proper. They exposed the lies in every pop philosophy; liberated people from unjust practices; and established marriages, families, and communities where self-denying love was the order of the day. They brought pagan cultures to ruin and put in place ideas about the nobility of work, the dignity of all human beings, and the joy of moral purity that shamed the elites and powerful of their day. And they took under their care discarded and dejected members of an uncaring society, giving them new hope in a new Kingdom, a Kingdom of light and power. Everywhere the Gospel of Jesus Christ has spread, change has been the order of the day. He Who insisted that He is making all things new has kept His Word. In culture after culture, innovations that have ennobled human beings, lent meaning and purpose to life, enhanced beauty and goodness, improved productivity and civility, and created stable social orders of law have come into being with the coming of the Kingdom of God. We have only to trace the progress of the Gospel over the past 2,000 years to see the dramatic ways the Kingdom of God has impacted people and cultures in every place. Every Christian brings the Kingdom of God into every one of his or her daily endeavors. Whether it is in our homes, our neighborhoods, at work, in our communities, among our friends, or participating in cultural or political life, Christians bring a perspective and a power to these arenas which, when properly engaged, exert transforming effects. We should pray and work and encourage one another to seek the Kingdom of God truly, daily, and with a view to showing others the reality we have come to know. The teaching of Scripture, the course of history, and the power of the indwelling Spirit are on our side. Next steps: In what ways would you like others to begin seeing more of the Kingdom in your life?