Kendall Smith, No-Div
Kendall is an elementary science teacher and an avid lover of books, nature, and long walks. She is easily distracted by thunderstorms and loves a good conversation over coffee.
Congratulations! You have made it through 319 days of 2020. And if it wasn’t COVID season (and if my brother and I were huggers) then we’d give you a nice long hug. Way to keep going. The truth is, if you’re like me, this year has been a doozy. And I will be the first to admit that we’re fine: we’ve kept our jobs, our pantry is full, our kids are healthy. But it has certainly felt unsettling at the deepest levels, hasn’t it?
Adding to the pandemic, as you know, we’ve experienced an unusually tense presidential election, we’ve attempted to reopen schools, many of us are worshipping differently than we did a year ago, many people are figuring out how to go back to work (or lost jobs and can’t go back to work) and now we’re watching as the number of COVID cases has begun to rise. This winter, everything in our lives has an asterisk after it. (*unless things change because of COVID)
Feelings of frustration and anger seem to be lying just below the surface now--for everyone. We’re looking for something sure to hang on to--but it seems those things don’t exist anymore. At least not right now. Tyler encouraged us last week to consider that this year, maybe God is answering our prayers. We are more open than ever to see God at work in us and around us. More desperate for His care and provision, more aware of our own shortcomings and struggles.
Something that has comforted me in the last 8 months is the reminder that we are not supposed to feel at home here. I mean, yes, God created this world for us and made it good. But obviously we’re no longer living in paradise. It’s like we belong to a different world. Paul (a writer of the New Testament) reminds his listeners multiple times that they belonged to a different Kingdom..and he used language that made sense to them. Living in the middle of the Roman Empire--which had controlled the region for several hundred years by the time of Christ--the first century Christians were all too familiar with the way that Rome would spread its influence: although based in Italy--the Empire would conquer lands and people all around the Mediterranean Sea region--and then plant communities there. A small government, maybe some guards--but also citizens. In this way, Rome could spread its culture all around the known world, simply by planting “little Romes” everywhere. It is with this picture in mind that Paul writes. It is a robust idea--that we are citizens of Heaven! Not simply to hang on tight and wait until Christ’s return, not to hide away in fear from the existing culture around us (as tempting as that can be) but instead, to live in a way that demonstrates the reality of a different Kingdom.
If our hope lies in what we can see today: our political party finally gaining the upper hand, the President we wanted being elected, the COVID virus finally being eradicated, my schedule finally feeling normal again, throwing away all these dang masks...then we are living as citizens of this world. We’re playing according to its rules. But if we are truly citizens of a Heavenly Kingdom, then the rules have changed. We have the power to live lives that demonstrate the values of a different world--putting others above ourselves, choosing humility rather than power, siding with those who don’t have a voice rather than grasping for whatever rank and status we can. It means we can live generously-without worrying about how we’ll be cared for in the future. We can take time to rest--when everything and everyone around us tells us our worth is found in our productivity. Long story short: we can live counter-culturally.
Ours is a kingdom that is strong and unshakeable. Ours is a kingdom that was ushered in, not by political power or might, but by sacrificial love. Ours is a kingdom that looks insignificant, until we remember that it has always grown from a teeny mustard seed. Ours is a kingdom that is led by Jesus--the one who paved the way in humility, love, and mercy. I heard the quote recently to “never waste a good pandemic”. That’s good advice. It’s especially good for those of us who have a reason for Hope. Now is the time for us to trust Jesus when He said that He would take care of us. When he called us to a life of sacrificial love and unrelenting kindness. We are Citizens of Heaven. The rules have changed.