The Everyday Kingdom: Revealing the Kingdom of God in Everyday Life by Junkin Preston

Author:Junkin, Preston [Junkin, Preston]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Unknown
Published: 2015-12-07T16:00:00+00:00

Kingdom Identity

We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us.

2 Corinthians 5:20a

People the world over tend to make their nationality a significant part of their identity. Consider the phrases “I am American” or “I am Korean” or “I am Nigerian.” To the speaker these phrases are often more than a statement about birthplace or citizenship. To most people, their nationality is part of who they are . Nationality often carries with it a sense of national pride, heritage, and cultural values.

To say that we are citizens of the Kingdom of God is much the same. Our true identity comes from our alliance with the King and his kingdom, not from our job, our social position or even our family history. Our citizenship in God’s kingdom increasingly influences who we are, what we value and how we choose to live our everyday lives. I’m not saying that all Christians will have the same hobbies or musical tastes or identical views on political issues. But as we are transformed by God’s work in our lives, we will increasingly share a common appreciation of our Lord and Savior. Because of our hope for the glorious future kingdom, we share an aspiration to be lights, reflecting the nature of the King and revealing what the Kingdom of God is like through our everyday lives.

Identity is a two-way street. I have my self-identity, and those I interact with have their own view of my identity. If I were traveling overseas and made the statement, “I am an American,” I might think that I am conveying that I value freedom of speech and government by the people. But in some places in the world I might be interpreted as saying that I value wealth, military might and even conquest.

As I have traveled around the world I have been saddened to see how much Hollywood and “reality” TV have influenced the perception of my own country. Some people believe that most Americans live in mansions and that our streets are constantly filled with gun-toting crooks and cops having car chases while beautiful movie stars with dressed-up poodles walk down our sidewalks.

Stereotypes have two important characteristics. One is that they have some basis in reality. Some people really do have mansions and decorate their dogs with diamond necklaces. I read about violent car chases in the Washington metropolitan area every few weeks. But to the average American citizen these things would not appear to be a fair characterization of the country as a whole.

The other important characteristic of stereotypes is that they are persistent. Even when there is overwhelming evidence to the contrary, stereotypes don’t want to go away. They become part of the lens through which people view other people. They influence our thoughts and even our language.

Years ago I was a on a short term mission trip in Benin, West Africa. As we drove past a rural village made of mud huts, a small child ran after our SUV, pointing to

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.