kingdom vs. Kingdom – A Higher Calling

Being a follower of Christ brings the tension of living as a stranger in a foreign land. We are citizens of two kingdoms: one present and one that is to come. In Matthew Chapter 6 Verse 10, Jesus teaches us how to pray, “Your Kingdom come, Your will be done on Earth as it is in Heaven”. What a strange prayer for the Son of God to pray. He, the one Who was believed to be the Messiah and Who was supposed to bring about the Kingdom of God in the earth during His day… yes, even He prayed for the will of Another to be done. Listen to Him in the Garden of Gethsemane as He prepares to face Death: “Not My will, but Yours be done”. Jesus, the only begotten Son of the Father, practiced what He preached and “became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross” (Phil. 2:8). Isn’t it amazing that the Son of God would submit His will to the will of His Heavenly Father! How is it that the King of kings and Lord of lords, the Root and the Seed of David, the Savior, the Christ, the Messiah, God’s Anointed One would be subjected to the will of another! He who could have called legions of angels to His aide while dying a death He did not deserve… Jesus submitted His will to the will of the Father ... and we must do the same.

This is the challenge, the difficulty, the tension, the higher calling of living in the Kingdom of God… to know that there are two options: the kingdom and the Kingdom. Submitting to the “kingdom” (note the little ‘k’) means to place our own mind, will, and emotions above those of our Sovereign God. When we submit to the “kingdom”, we are submitting to a mindset and a mentality that would allow us to serve our own purposes. Submitting to the Kingdom with a capital ‘K’ means we subject our own mind, will, and emotions to the sovereignty of the Almighty God, the Higher Power, whose ways and thoughts are higher than ours (Isaiah 55:8-9). The hymnwriter said it most eloquently:

Lord, lift me up and let me stand,

By faith on Heaven’s tableland,

A higher plane than I have found;

Lord, plant my feet on Higher Ground.

Our calling is to the mark in the high calling of Christ Jesus – a greater perspective than that with which we are born. Dr. Ravi Zacharias states that “we must keep the Eternal Perspective”. The challenge is the uphill climb that is necessary to gain a better view. Most people don’t want to surrender their comfort to go higher. A good friend of mine shared that “people are satisfied with what seems right to them. No willingness to weigh their preferences against the higher calling of God”. That higher calling is the Kingdom – away from little ‘k’ kingdom to the big ‘K’ Kingdom! So when our thoughts and feelings are in contradiction to the Word and the will of God, the nature and character of Christ, we must surrender our will to the Lord and allow the Holy Spirit to take us higher! It is imperative for believers to lay aside the weight (Heb. 12:1) that holds us back... the personal, political, religious (etc.) preferences that trip us up and keep us from accomplishing the will of the Father.

Now is a good time for us to wipe our eyes and ask God if we are looking through the eyes of Heaven, the Eternal Perspective, the Kingdom perspective. Let's allow His Kingdom mentality to transcend all of our religious, political, social, and relational perspectives. May our earthly kingdom mindset be subjected to the will of the heavenly King.