The World vs Gods Kingdom

College degrees

Presige

The top of the corporate ladder

A fancy, expensive car

Tan skin

White teeth

Perfect hair

Skinny body

A massive bank account

A big house

A large following on social media

All the latest and greatest gizmos and gadgets

These things I listed are just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to “having it all” in this world, and when you get all these things and more, you finally “made it” and are deemed successful.

The problem with worldly success is when you have achieved all these things, or even more than this initial list, there is something still missing and that hole for what is missing, will only seem to grow bigger and bigger when more of these things are desired and achieved, as I’ve written in the last two blogs.  Worldly success is a slippery slope and is very different from living in God’s kingdom. 

Heaven beats to a different drum. A beat so different than the world, that it may even be hard to fathom what God calls successful or blessed. It can be hard reframing our minds on how God’s kingdom operates because we may be so used to living in this world and its high to reach standards and dealing with even family members who only give conditional love than God’s unconditional love. 

The world can feel intimidating, dark and empty at times. But, the most wonderful part about all this is Jesus. God sent his one and only son and was representing who God was through human form here on earth and the best news ever is Jesus was kind, compassionate, honest, and cared for humanity and the condition of us humans more than anything. He put religion in its rightful place and started a eternal relationship with human beings. No other “religion’s” God, does that and thats what makes Jesus so special and the name above all names. 

When you study the gospels, you can so clearly see Jesus’s character, what he cared about and what he didn’t. You see a man that bore all emotions humans did, but never sinned once. You see a man who got angry and flipped tables, wept hard when his friend died and saw the “invisibles” in the villages he visited and made them feel seen and cared for. 

He is unlike any figure in history. He prepared and preached one of the most popular sermons in history called, the sermon on the mount. In Matthew it states the beatitudes that Jesus preached to his disciples first. In here, he stated many different conditions of the heart and human experiences and went to say they are all blessed in the kingdom of God. This is where it shows “Success” in God’s kingdom, is a totally different view and definition than what this world is about. 

As I was reading this one day, it really hit me that some of these that God calls blessed, is truly wild. It shows how different God thinks than the world and if we truly live by how God views us and the ways he lives by, then it does not matter what we are “lacking” on earth. God views life very differently and we must listen. If we truly can live by his simple but profound words, I think the heavy load the world puts on our shoulders would be taken off and we can live with true peace and purpose in our hearts.

The Beatitudes:

Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.

Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.

Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.

Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy.

Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.

Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.

Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

I was reading this and it hit differently. Such simple things God is calling blessed, like being a peacemaker or being insulted even, he calls you blessed. It almost seems so simple and they aren’t even achievements, just a heart posture or even a condition or character of the human heart. Things that may appear as weaknesses in this life, God views as gain. Great gain in heaven. God promises to us are all throughout these scriptures. Certain moments in this life can feel very heavy and it can be hard to live these ways at times. But if we follow how God wants us to live then we know by His words that so many beautiful promises will follow.

We all mourn but take heart, God will comfort you in those moments.

We all have had to fight against our flesh at times and be merciful to an enemy, but take heart in that discomfort, you will be shown mercy as well for your sins.

It is hard to remain peaceful in the midst of tension at a holiday gathering, but rising up as a peacemaker, you are called a child of God because of that peace you display.

Maybe you’ve made some big mistakes in your past and you hunger so hard to be holier, well, Jesus tells you, that hunger to be righteous, you will be filled.

There can be a lot of uncomfortable and painful times throughout life, but if we obey God’s word and follow his commands/words the best we can, there will be reward in heaven. Our race can feel hard and long at times and feel like we don’t measure up to the world’s success meter, but that hard fought race rooted in faith, does not go unnoticed. 

God sees you and even if you do not check all those worldly success boxes, thankfully, it does not matter in the eyes of our father in heaven.

What has really helped me too if I get stuck sometimes on not having certain worldly successes, is remembering faithfulness over success. That is what really matters to God. Being faithful will always be more important than any job you could have or achievement you can gain.

He views us through loving eyes no matter what and loves us with a pure and holy love. He promises us beautiful things and the comfort of always being with us, when we believe and follow Him.

I hope Jesus’s words give you peace and you take his promises as a consolation when you need it and gives a new pep in your step, because of the joy he has waiting for you. And I hope you know that God’s love defines you, not this world’s successes.

All for Jesus,

Steph