“The Voice that spoke chaos into order, speaks to us. He calls chaos into order into each of our own lives. We live in a world that confuses us and distracts us. We fill our lives with clutter and focus our attention on things that tell us they will bring full life, but never can fulfill it” (Project Serve Curriculum 2021). Our God is calling for our attention! He is calling you to be engaged in the Unshakeable Kingdom Community.
Hebrews 12:28 – “Since we are receiving a Kingdom that is unshakable, let us be thankful and please God by worshiping him with holy fear and awe.” (New Living Translation)
We do this as individuals and as a community! I love the opportunity to share faith as a community! We have an incredible opportunity to engage in this from week-to-week. I love to see churches part of the Kingdom of God come together to serve the mission of God. It begins with us caring for each other in community. Unity in diversity is a fantastic picture of the Kingdom of God.
We can learn from Philippians 2:3-8 (NLT) about how we should treat each other in the Kingdom Community:
“Don’t be selfish; don’t try to impress others. Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourselves. Don’t look out only for your own interests, but take an interest in others, too. You must have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had. Though he was God,[a]he did not think of equality with God as something to cling to. Instead, he gave up his divine privileges;[b] he took the humble position of a slave[c] and was born as a human being. When he appeared in human form,[d] he humbled himself in obedience to God and died a criminal’s death on a cross.”
“These verses from Paul’s writings to the church in Philippi were written while he was under house arrest. He wrote to thank some dear friends who had sent him money. In this letter he tells them about a joy that does not depend upon external circumstances, because it is rooted in Jesus Christ, who gives it freely” (PSC).
No matter what the external circumstances look like we are to be unselfish with others, interested in others and humble toward others. Maximilian Kolbe lived a life marked by these things:
“In 1906, when Maximilian Kolbe was just 12 years old, he had a vision which shaped the rest of his life… Maximilian previously wanted to become a soldier with the Polish army, but the vision led him to join the Franciscan order as a 16-year-old instead. He was ordained in 1910, and immediately began to reach out to others so that they could encounter the love of God. Along with a small group of friars, he founded a monastery near Warsaw, which they used as an evangelism base… World War II started in 1939, and Warsaw was captured by the Nazis…he and the few friars who had not fled provided shelter for Polish refugees and hid around 2,000 Jews… The Nazis eventually closed the monastery down and arrested the friars in February 1941, and Maximilian was sent to Auschwitz. A few weeks after his arrival, 10 men from Maximilian’s barracks were chosen to be starved to death as an example to others in the camp. When Maximilian heard one of the men cry out in fear for his family he volunteered to take the man’s place.”
Maximilian then died with the 10 selected men from his barracks. Although this is an extreme example of the faith life described in Philippians 2:3-8, we can see that Maximilian made many small decisions that directed his life toward the decision he made in the barracks. Our lives are full of small decisions from day-to-day and week-to-week. Are our small decisions leading us to a life of harmony in the Unshakeable Kingdom Community? Take a small step in that direction this week.
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Kevin Nethercott is the director of Youth Unlimited/Youth For Christ North Perth.
