Kingdom Certified

Lately, I’ve been thinking a lot about what it takes to do that which God requires of me…of all of us as a Body of Christ. The Great Commission, as it were, in our every day lives in our homes, schools and workplaces.

The world often requires experience for you to be allowed to do any work. There’s a long list of required certifications and accolades before anyone will even give you an ear. And the lamented paradox is always that it takes work to get experience and experience to get work.

In the kingdom, the only requirement is a willingness to align to the heart and mind of God.

That’s it.

But the trouble with being in the world, even when we are not of it, is that sometimes we forget. Sometimes we get it twisted. Sometimes, the expectations of man are louder than the expectation of God. Sometimes the accuser of brethren sneaks up on us and whispers that we are frauds. And catching us off guard, we believe him.

We begin to wonder and question whether we have any business saying or doing anything about something that we have so little knowledge and experience with. Especially compared to this other person who seems to have it all together so flawlessly. This person who’s been doing it way longer than we have, much better than we ever think we could.

We begin to look in the space God has put us in and all we see are giants. People who’ve gone ahead of us and seem to have it all covered. What else is there to do? What more can we add? What’s the point in being yet another voice in the midst of thousands?

There’s something I’ve seen and heard shared repeatedly over the years in one form or the other: even if you’ve only been saved an hour, you still have a testimony to give.

I’ve come to learn it’s based on one fundamental truth: each one of us carries a unique expression of God in us.

Get 10 vastly different people to talk about faith and they’ll give you 10 different expressions of the same thing. Each of those expressions will be more effective in reaching certain people than the next. When you put them all out there, they end up complementing each other for the same end goal: spreading the Good News about the kingdom of God.

Ideally, that’s how it’s supposed to work.

In reality, we make the mistake of looking at the various expressions as being in competition with each other. Forgetting that there’s so much harvest out there, we really do need all hands on deck. Because any human being will only ever go as far as the limits of their human capacity. There are those whose capacity is way above average but even that has its end. One person, one ministry, one church will never be able to reach everyone. And while knowledge and experience are not a bad thing, the danger lies in leaning more on our own understanding than the guidance of Holy Spirit for a given situation or person.

On the flip side, every believer has the opportunity to be limitless in God. Just as there is nothing that can contain and constrain Him, when we are aligned to His purpose, in step with Him even as times and seasons change, nothing can hold us back. Collectively, when we all come together as One Body with One Mission, then our big, big world is sized down to our homes, our neighbourhoods, our schools, our workplaces, our countries.

But we have to start somewhere. Everyone does. Even those who seem miles ahead of us had to start somewhere.

For me starting somewhere looks like showing up every day.

Even on days when I’m like that widow who only had a few pennies to give as offering.

Even on days when all I have are 5 loaves and 2 fish.

Even on days when I’m writing these posts for myself more than anyone else… preaching the gospel to myself as Ann Voskamp calls it.

I show up and give everything I have.

God in His never-ending faithfulness shows up and makes miracles out of it. Every. Single. Time.

And the increase of His government knows no end in my life and in every sphere of life that I’m involved in.

The Kingdom of God needs the revelation of God you alone carry. This crazy world we live in does too.

Don’t let anyone – not even yourself – or anything tell you different.

Step out in faith and God will step in with grace.

“There is an abundant need in this world for your brand of beautiful.”

– Lysa TerKeurst