Kingdom thinking

As I have been reading through the Bible looking at the Missio Dei, it has encouraged me greatly to be thinking about the kingdom of God. As the Lord works in the books of Genesis and Exodus, He gathers His people, establishes them, and forms them into a nation. From one family, to a few families, to the growing people of Israel, God brings them together to rule them and show Himself through them. He gives them His law to establish obedience and faith, which defeat sin. These people are poor, they are weak, and they are faithless often. But the Lord graciously gives of Himself, heals them, leads them, and uses them to display His power.

I am weak, and faithless. Starting a new job was novel for about a day. Going into the city, to work at a large hospital made me feel small. Like I am just another body in the crowded city, daily getting up, going to work, and then going home. What about what I am doing makes it all worth while? Why do I want to go into the city? Why do I want to work well, at a difficult job? What am I doing?

God sends out His people, His ambassadors of His kingdom, into a broken and fallen world. And He is moving in the world, establishing His power over sin and death. His kingdom is on the move. In the days when Israel was a nation, it was easy for the people to see the kingdom, the nation to which they belonged, and how the Lord was leading that nation. In the world now, His kingdom is all over, but it is a more subtle community. The subjects of that kingdom are sent into the kingdoms of the world with a mission, to represent and establish the reign of the Lord. To know that even in a big city like Chicago, my steps, my interactions, my comings and my goings are directed by my King. I belong to something greater than myself, and I am subject to my gracious Lord, who has given me more that I could ever have asked.

I am eager to see how the Lord will use me as his sent one for His kingdom. And it is exciting to venture into the city at the leading of my Lord to see what He will do there.