The Upside Down
“For you have been called to live in freedom, my brothers and sisters. But don’t use your freedom to satisfy your sinful nature. Instead, use your freedom to serve one another in love.” -Galatians 5:13
Pastor Clay talked about the upside down nature of the kingdom of God on Sunday. This verse exemplifies that upside down nature. As believers, we are called to live in freedom. We are free to choose how we will live our lives. We can choose to live in fear. We can choose to live in abundance. We can choose to live the full and satisfying life that Jesus promises us. We can choose to live by the world's standards. We have the freedom to choose to live however we please.
The way of the world today seems to be to live in any way you choose that brings you pleasure and feels good to you as long as you aren’t hurting anyone else. The world encourages us to be our own version of ourselves. The world says we can be anything we want to be and do anything we want to do as long as we aren’t hurting anyone in the process. But what if that kind of living is actually hurting us?
Galatians 5:13 acknowledges that we have indeed been called to live in freedom, but it ends with a warning to us about how we ought to use that freedom. We were not given freedom so that we could go out and do whatever we want to do and live however we want to live. We were given freedom so that we could go out and love people and serve others. We were given the freedom to live for God rather than living for ourselves. This is the nature of the upside down kingdom of God. The world will tell us that it is all about us. God’s word tells us that it is all about Him.
Not only should the upside down nature of the kingdom of God be seen in the way that we live, but also in the way that we speak. 1 Corinthians 2:6-7 says, “We do, however, speak a message of wisdom among the mature, but not the wisdom of this age or of the rulers of this age, who are coming to nothing. No, we speak of God’s secret wisdom, a wisdom that has been hidden and that God destined for our glory before time began.”
Our speech should reflect the wisdom of the upside down kingdom of God. The world will not always understand it. It will not make sense to some. God’s wisdom says to think of others as more important than ourselves. This is the opposite of what the world tells us. God’s wisdom says that it is better to give than to receive. This is also opposite of what the world says. God’s wisdom says to forgive 70x7 times. The wisdom of the world would imply that vengence is more important than forgiveness.
Just like the bumblebee story that Pastor Clay shared in his message, God’s ways don’t always seem to make sense. Oftentimes, God’s wisdom seems to contradict the world’s wisdom. This is the upside down nature of the kingdom of God. This is why we have been called to live in this world but not of it. We are ambassadors of Christ, and we are to live by the upside down rules of the kingdom of God for as long as we live in this world. It is not always easy to stand firm and not be swept away by the rules of the world. Being part of a church family helps. Gathering together with like-minded people to worship God and study His word on a weekly basis strengthens us so that we can withstand the pressure to bend to the ways of this world. Whether you join us on Sunday mornings or meet with a small group of believers sometime during the week, we want to encourage you to make this a priority so that you can continue to stand firm in the ways of the upside down kingdom and not be swept away by the ways of this world.
We are with you, and we are for you. If there is anything we can do to help, please don’t hesitate to reach out. We were made for community, and we are all in this together.