We’ve spent the last six posts talking about the kingdom of God and what it means to be an agent of the kingdom of God. The kingdom of God is upside-down. Agents of the kingdom live as Jesus told them to live–a third way. We aren’t to retaliate or run; we aren’t to hate or ignore. We’re to live in such a way that others notice. Some will hate us for it. Others will notice. Others will want to follow Jesus.
If we’re going to live as agents of the kingdom of God, here are some things that must change (by no means is this an exhaustive list):
- Our finances. Even though our economy is in the crapper and some of us are worried about our jobs, this is an excellent chance to exercise faith in God to provide our daily bread. Agents of the kingdom are to be generous people. This means we must rethink our finances. We need to take a hard look at what we’re spending our money on. Do we really need the deluxe cable package (who can watch 200+ channels anyway)? Do we really need the top-of-the-line cell phone plan? Do we have to drive a new car? As agents of the kingdom, we need to think through all of these things. Financial health isn’t just about being debt free so we can plan for retirement. What if it’s about imitating Jesus by lowering our standard of living so that we can raise the standard of living for others? Churches need to think about their finances and assets as well. What if, instead of new churches lusting after property and buildings, they continue to rent and use their finances to help others in Jesus’ name? What if churches that already own facilities would work with their local governments to find ways to use their property to shelter the homeless? Yeah, your building may have a funny smell from time-to-time, but when we help the distressed in Jesus’ name, it’s a sweet aroma to God.
- Our time. Most of us would have to admit that our schedules are way too full. Why do we think we have to be so busy? An agent of the kingdom imitates Jesus by carving out time alone to be with God in solitude. Agents of the kingdom carve out time to do life together. Agents of the kingdom use time to assist and serve others. What do we need to do to give, not just part of our time, but all of our time to God?
- Our jobs. Many of us see our jobs as what we do to provide for our families. What if, instead, we see our jobs as mission fields? What are ways we can serve our co-workers? What are some ways we can use our jobs to introduce others to Jesus? One of our churches has three guys who work the weekends at the local Wal-Mart distribution center. One of them is Reber, who will be replacing me next year when we move. He started talking to his buddy Joe about Jesus. Joe noticed the changes in Reber’s life, and when Reber started his church, Joe was there. Last week, Joe baptized his buddy Heath, who had seen the difference in both Reber and Joe’s life. Heath started connecting with Reber and Joe’s microchurch, and Joe recently baptized Heath. Now, the Wal-Mart distribution center has three guys on the weekends who are looking to take back that place of business for the kingdom of God. How can we do that?
- Our homes. We tend to see our homes as our sanctuary away from the stress of life. Agents of the kingdom, however, use their homes as hubs of the kingdom. They’re hospitable. They open their homes to others in their church community to hang out, share meals, do life, and discover Jesus. Yeah, it can be a pain in the ass sometimes–cleaning up when you just want to leave stuff be, or missing your favorite TV show in order to hang out with others. But it is totally worth the price. But what if we took it further? I recently read a book where the author said that we do a lot of talk about being pro-life. We tend to vote for pro-life candidates. Some of us go to pro-life rallies. But if we’re really pro-life, we need to provide shelter to teen mothers and start adopting some babies that would otherwise have been aborted (and he meant opening up our homes). What are other ways that our homes can be hubs of the kingdom?
There are other ways that we need to think about how an agent of the kingdom would live, how we can make the jumbo shrimp gospel a reality. So now it’s your turn–what are other ways we can live as agents of the kingdom, living out the jumbo shrimp gospel?
Yeah Aaron, way to sick burn us all! This whole agent of the kingdom of God thing is really important. When I don’t view life this way, it’s easy to feel like crap (happened on and off for the last couple months).
Interesting take on abortion. Some Christians like to single out that issue, which seems ridiculous to me. Greed, envy, hatred, and JUDGEMENT (now there’s a sick burn) are sins just as much as abortion is. How about giving a crap about people instead of judging them? That’s the whole point of why Jesus came anyway, and it’s His job to judge, not ours. I’m sure the birth parent of our foster child will have done some less-than-reputable things, but that’s not part of our deal. We just love that child until hopefully the parent(s) can get the help they need.