A God-Sized Vision For Our Communities and Our World

Jesus taught us to pray to God that His Kingdom would come and His will would be done on earth as it is in heaven (Matt. 6:9). Would He teach us to pray that if He did not have some intention of it being carried out?

God's Kingdom

What is God's Kingdom? I have been talking about this a lot lately because the Kingdom is the template through which Jesus wants us to understand His purposes for this world. He brought the Kingdom of God into our midst. The Kingdom is nothing less than the reign and rule of God. So, Jesus wants us to pray that His reign and rule would be established on earth as it is in heaven. Prayer here means that we are asking God for His supernatural intervention in the affairs of men. But, since God uses us to do His will, we can also assume that He wants us to be agents of His Kingdom so that we may cooperate with Him in the establishment of His reign and rule. His Kingdom is here and it is forcefully advancing. It is for us to lay hold of it forcefully (Matt. 11:12).

God's Will

What is God's will? It seems that there have been a thousand books written about how we can know God's will for our lives. Does God want me to marry this person? Does He want me to take this job? Does He want me to move to this city? These are valid questions and surely God guides us throughout out our lives, but I find it interesting that we continually pray to know God's personal will for our lives (which is valid), while forgetting to pray for God's will for our communities and our world. Are we only able to think of ourselves? What does God think about the broken homes in your community? What does He think about fatherlessness and poverty? Does Isaiah 1:17 have anything to say to us about our stance regarding fatherlessness?  Jeremiah 29:7 says something amazing to the Israelites in exile in Babylon: "Also, seek the peace and prosperity of the city to which I have carried you into exile. Pray to the Lord for it, because if it prospers, you too will prosper."  But, weren't the people of God in exile in pagan Babylon? How could they pray for the prosperity of Babylon?  Because God told them to. They were to represent His reign and rule even in the midst of exile. Should we do any less?

On Earth As It Is In Heaven

If we want to know what God's will is, we need look no further than His character. As we get to know God better, we should be reflecting His character in our lives. If we are not displaying compassion for those in need, then we are not reflecting God's character. If we are not living holy lives, then His character is not shining through. God wants to supernaturally transform our lives, our families, our environment, and our communities so that every place that we go we are bringing His Kingdom - His reign and rule. When we see sin, depravity, and brokenness in our cities, how can we run away? How can we harbor dreams of escaping people in need and believe that we are dreaming God's dreams? Does God not love people? Did He not die for the broken, harrassed, and helpless? Is there racial division in heaven? Is there crime and poverty? Are there broken homes, abused people, and people struggling with all types of bondages? Until we begin to understand that we are Christ's ambassadors (2 Cor. 5:20), then much of the beauty of the Christian life will be withheld from us because we did not have the faith or awareness to step into God's plan for this world.  God actually wants us to pray that Heaven will break into earth through our influence, be it through our personal witness, our work, our creativity, our families, or our general impact on society.

Thy Kingdom Come

I don't want to rest until my life is aligned to bring God's Kingdom everywhere I go. Christians should be MORE involved in our communities, not less. We should move into neighborhoods that are struggling and reclaim them. We should rebuild our schools, our neighborhoods, and our workplaces. We should be about the task of rebuilding lives. Isn't this what Isaiah 61:4 says, "They will rebuild the ancient ruins and restore the places long devastated; they will renew the ruined cities that have been devastated for generations." And, Isaiah 58:12 says, "Your people will rebuild the ancient ruins and will raise up the age-old foundations; you will be called Repairer of Broken Walls, Restorer of Streets with Dwellings." That should not be a revolutionary thought, but the norm. Instead, we tend to run away when problems arise or we turn our attention inward to our own families or our churches, thinking that if we can fix ourselves, then everything else will take care of itself. God wants us to turn our hearts toward Him and toward others, I believe.

It Is Too Small a Thing . . .

Isaiah 49:6 says, "It is too small a thing for you to be my servant to restore the tribes of Jacob and bring back those of Israel I have kept. I will also make you a light for the Gentiles that you may bring my salvation to the ends of the earth." Paul and Barnabas repeat this in Acts 13:47 in proclaiming the Gospel to the Gentiles.  We must move past just a personal vision for happiness in our own lives, or just a vision for our families or even for our church. Our vision must extend as far as God's does - to our communities, our nation, and our world. If we would open our eyes and allow Him to pour His life through us, we would be amazed at how our capacity for life, creativity, and restoration will grow. God will use us to be the light of the world, as Jesus calls us in Matthew 5:14.

What does the world look like without light? Dark, indeed. Perhaps we will stop running and complaining when we begin to see that God wants to use His Church to address the problems in this world. May we plant our feet in our communities and develop a God-sized vision for our world. How can we practically do this, you ask?

I'll get into specifics on this in the next post. But, it is likely that you already know the answer to that question.  It has probably been staring you in the face for some time and you have either not seen it because you did not have eyes to see it, or you saw it and chose to look away and do nothing. Hint: Think about the very thing that you have been complaining about the most and then ask what God might have you do about it. There is a reason that it has been bothering you.  More later.