Philippians 2.14-16
“Do all things without grumbling or complaining, that you may be blameless and innocent, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and twisted generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world, holding fast to the word of life.”
We are created, redeemed, and called to co-labor with God in the process of transformation. We are agents of change. We are called to contribute to the process of mending earth’s brokenness. Every day.
The world has suffered under the rule of Satan and self, but now, in the person and work of Jesus, the kingdom of God has come and transformation has begun. Through our every day work we are called to be agents of the process of transformation.
This is the gospel. This is the good news that in the person of Christ God’s loving rule has come to earth; that through Christ God is at work restoring what was lost at the Fall; and that we are called to participate in that work. Good news indeed!
We know from our reading of scripture that the world will not be completely healed and restored until Christ’s return. God will bring full restoration and transformation at the Second Coming of Jesus, but between now and then, God has called the followers of Christ — individually and collectively as the Church — to be ambassadors of God’s redeeming and restoring grace.
“Stay dressed for action and keep your lamps burning, and be like men who are waiting for their master to come home from the wedding feast, so that they may open the door to him at once when he comes and knocks. Blessed are those servants whom the master finds awake when he comes.” (Luke 12.35-37)
Every day we have the opportunity to deal with people and situations affected by the brokenness of the world. We are called to respond to these people and situations in a way that reflects the presence and power of Christ. We are called to respond to these people and situations as ambassadors of the truth and grace of the Kingdom. We are called to respond as agents of redemption and restoration. We are called to respond with truth, love, and the fruit of the Spirit.
Unfortunately, some Christians, when they encounter the brokenness of the world, have a tendency to respond with impatience, irritation, and complaining. They fail to recognize the situation for what it really is: an opportunity, a mission, a calling to touch a person or a situation with the presence and power of Christ.
The challenge is that we often want the Christian life to be comfortable and convenient. We want the experience of full transformation and restoration right now. But we must continually recognize that complete redemption lies in the future, and that we are called to live out the faith in a still-fallen world. And quite often, fulfilling that mission is very uncomfortable and inconvenient.
“Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you.” (1 Peter 4.12)
I would like to encourage you to adopt a true Kingdom mindset. Each day when you wake up recognize that you are an agent of the Kingdom of God in a broken world. Thank God for calling you to be his ambassador, and then ask him to equip and empower you to deal with the brokenness you will encounter that day, so that the people and situations you experience might be transformed (even in very small ways) through your actions.
At the end of the day, thank God for giving you the privilege of co-laboring with him to bring redemption and restoration to the brokenness of a fallen world, and giving the world a foretaste of what Christ will bring fully at his return.
Trust God and be an agent of change.
