As I See Things (Tim Hawkridge)

We're busy with the teaching theme "Kingdom of Life". In it we're going to be exploring some of the characteristics of the Kingdom of God, and our responses to that in our lifestyle choices.

It occurs to me that the Kingdom of God (His rule, His values, His boundaries, His agenda) really needs to be our primary frame of reference. It's so easy to shape life to be about us, our family, or even our church – but the Kingdom is much broader. I'm concerned at the tendency of local church households to become so consumed with their own programmes that there is little recognition of the rest of the church in their area, never mind connection or cooperation with them.

To the rest of society, it may well appear as if those churches are in fact competing for market share, and that's certainly not the truth of the Kingdom! I'm feeling challenged with the thought that the life of the Kingdom is given only to the measure that Kingdom Reality is recognised and embraced.

Scripture is absolutely clear that God blesses most where there is unity of heart and purpose. May our personal and ministry agendas be constantly reshaped within the context of God's Kingdom agenda, so that we can truly received the Kingdom Life He has promised.
As ever,
Tim.