Advancing the Kingdom

Hope Chaplain Lauren Bailey reflects on advancing the kingdom of God...

Recently I have been thinking about one of our key objectives of advancing the kingdom - and when I think about this, I always bring to mind an image of swords and shields, full armour and fighting.

More recently though I have had to lay this down in my mind and purposefully remember Jesus. His nature fully God and also fully human. Emmanuel – God with us.

He advanced the Kingdom by becoming “nothing”.

Jesus knew who he was; he wasn’t a doormat - just allowing anything to happen to him. There are plenty of examples in the bible where he stood up for others and himself. And this is actually where the meaning of “turn the other cheek” comes from – it is to make a declaration against injustice.

Jesus laid all of his power, authority and dignity aside. He humbly entered into His kingdom on a very small donkey. Because God's Kingdom is different. It values the small, the humble, the powerless. We enter it by becoming like a little child, and in this way it is also advanced.

Through humble service. Through childlike trust in our amazing Father who loves us deeply.

We lay down our power and ask for His. We lay down our importance and ask for His significance. We lay down our own control and ask for His plans and purposes to give us our hope. And we trust that he will advance His Kingdom as we seek it first. Then He usually adds on all the rest.

What does it look like for you today to enter into His Kingdom?

What do we need to lay at His feet?

What might Jesus want to give us for the next bit of the journey?

In the busy-ness, let’s pause for a few moments and let Him show us in the light of his loving care.

Philippians 2: 1-11

Therefore if you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any common sharing in the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and of one mind. 

Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others.

In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus:

Who, being in very nature God,

did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage;

rather, he made himself nothing 

by taking the very nature of a servant,

being made in human likeness.

And being found in appearance as a man,

he humbled himself 

by becoming obedient to death — 

even death on a cross!

Therefore God exalted him to the highest place 

and gave him the name that is above every name,

that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow,

in heaven and on earth and under the earth,

and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord,

to the glory of God the Father.