Backwards Kingdom: Self-Sacrifice

As crazy as it seems, this series is already coming to an end. I have loved diving into what the kingdom of Christ looks like compared to the world and its habits, and I really feel like this topical study is what I needed as I look towards my sophomore year of college. By the time that this post is published, I will have already been through my first week of the semester, which means that I am currently in the middle of preparing what I need to move back in.

When I first got the idea for this series, I was preparing to leave for camp and was overwhelmed by how much I felt like I was blending into the world. I wasn’t consistent in my time with God, and wasn’t fully relying on Him to be my guide. This brought feelings of guilt as I felt crushed by the fact that I wasn’t living the “set apart” life that I have been called to. This is what had inspired me to start this series, and to really dive into what it means to look different than the sin all around us.

In all honesty, it is much easier to mirror Christ when you are working at a Christian summer camp that is constantly prioritizing your spiritual health and is pushing you every single day to spend time with Him. The environment that I was in made it easy to live this way, because that is what I was surrounded with. However, I am back in the world, and even though my school is Christian, there is no environment as spiritually cultivating as camp. Even now, while I’m at home for a few weeks, I feel the temptations of comfort push me to do what brings me happiness instead of living a life for Christ. This series has been the push that I needed to look at my own life, and evaluate whether the way I live points to a life with Jesus.

A selfish world

One characteristic of the world that I have always found apparent is how self-centered everyone is. Every person’s schedule is filled with things that will satisfy their own desires, and social media pushes making yourself the star of your story. Between following the trends that will make you stand out and seem “admirable”, finding hobbies and activities that make your time worthwhile to yourself, or doing “what makes you happy”, this world encourages us all to focus on ourselves. Even though most people agree that donating to charity and spending time volunteering is morally right, the amount of people that actually invest in these for the right reasons doesn’t match with the supposed value the world places on it.

One place that this is evident is through the way we spend our time. It is rare that I see somebody of the world giving up their own free time to support their friends without being asked, giving of their resources to help out someone they know that is in need, or sacrificing what they have been given to assist someone else. The world says that our own resources and material items are too valuable to be wasted on others in this “every man for himself” culture, and we should be using them instead to glorify ourselves.

Godly community

The problem in this lies in the fact that we have created a world that views living relationally as weak. The media has pushed me to believe for a long time that I should be completely independent, and never need anyone else to help with my emotional, mental, and spiritual needs. While we should not be completely dependent on others, God created us for community, and designed us to be in community to help one another. In the book of Acts, we see a wonderful example of how the early church practiced this community through self-sacrifice instead of each person seeking things for themselves.

“Then they that gladly received his word were baptized: and the same day there were added unto them about three thousand souls. And they continued stedfastly in the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers. And fear came upon every soul: and many wonders and signs were done by the apostles. And all that believed were together, and had all things common; and sold their possessions and goods, and parted them to all men, as every man had need. And they, continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, did eat their meat with gladness and singleness of heart, praising God, and having favour with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily such as should be saved.” (Acts 2:41-47)

One part of the passage that especially speaks to me considering the topic is how they had all things in common, selling what they had to help each other. This wasn’t done in an act of pity for those that were in need, but instead recognizing why God has provided for them. He does not provide for us to have plenty of material goods, or for us to have meaningless excess, but to give away what we have been given to help others. This is proof of a unified body of Christ that looked to see the needs of others, and made sacrifices of their own to help fulfill those needs. In fact, in Philippians 2:4, we are instructed to “look not every man on his own things, but every man also on the things of others.” When we are completely focused on our own needs and desires, we block out the opportunities that God has given us to give our life away for others.

With this calling in mind, if we want to stand out in a world of people that are focused on glorifying themselves, we need to look first to what the needs of others are, prioritizing others above ourselves. For me in this next school year, this looks like encouraging those that are new to my school and finding opportunities to include them in spaces. Whether it is inviting them to an event, asking them to join me at dinner, or spending time with them on campus to help them get comfortable with their environment, I want to look out for what others need, and use the opportunities that God has given me to love others and bring them into the body of Christ.