This post and prayer is the fruit of quiet meditation and prayer this morning. I know I needed it. Maybe you do too.

It is difficult to ignore the divisions that surround us. They are numerous, layered, and complex beyond anything we can reasonably untangle. Political, cultural, religious, ideological. Each one pulls at our attention and demands a response.The havoc they create is exhausting to contemplate, let alone to address.

Yet as I considered this, this morning. it struck me that these divisions are not new. Jesus faced them in His own day. Paul did as well. Different forms, same underlying reality.

The divisions Jesus encountered ultimately succeeded, from an earthly perspective, in silencing Him. They took His life. But Jesus was not limited to the options those divisions possessed. Death itself was not the end. He rose again and continues to fulfill the mission given to Him by the Father. The Kingdom He proclaimed was never of this earthly realm, and therefore could not be extinguished by earthly powers.

Paul followed that same path. After his encounter with the risen Christ, his life became marked by opposition, hardship, and suffering. He endured punishment at the hands of both religious and political authorities. In time, he too was silenced by Rome. Yet Paul’s mindset throughout was unwavering. He did not seek to repair the systems that opposed him. He entrusted himself to the purposes of God and remained faithful to the calling given to him.

That way of thinking feels almost unrealistic to us. Not because Paul was extraordinary in himself, but because he was fully convinced that Jesus is exactly who He claimed to be. Without that conviction, Paul’s life makes little sense at all.

This is the same landscape every Christian is called to walk, whether we recognize it or not. We are called to live out our lives according to the realities of the Kingdom of God, under the guidance and leadership of Jesus Christ, who alone advances the will of God the Father.

It has become increasingly clear, at least for me, especially at this time of my life, that this is not something that can be successfully divided or shared. One cannot fully labor for the Kingdom of God while simultaneously devoting oneself to offsetting the divisions within earthly kingdoms. The work required to learn, balance, reform, or stabilize earthly systems consumes everything it touches. The drawing in that these earthly systems produce is subtle, but it happens. Progressively, over time, there is no room left for the work of the Kingdom of God, when earthly kingdoms become our focus. I think that when Jesus told us to seek first the Kingdom of God (Matthew 6:33), He knew what He was talking about. 

What lies ahead for those who are oriented toward the Kingdom of God is not comforting from an earthly perspective. Scripture never suggests otherwise. Yet once again, death is not the final word. God’s will is accomplished. The cosmic struggle between good and evil continues only until God, in His mercy and wisdom, brings it to its appointed end. Then He will be all things in all, exactly as Jesus and Paul, both tell us it will be.

Living with that focus is not easy. To keep one’s hand to the plow and follow a straight line while turmoil rages all around requires trust rather than comprehension. Our minds are limited. Our bodies are weak. Much of what God is doing exceeds our ability to fully grasp.

This is where the “But I say unto you” teachings of Jesus take on their full weight. They are not moral suggestions. They are Kingdom realities. His way becomes our way. To see it and live it requires faith, because human logic alone cannot sustain it.

Paul knew when his time was near. He could say he had fought the good fight, finished the course, and kept the faith. That moment comes for all of us. And it is only by God’s grace that any of us fight the fight we are called to fight.

That fight does not look the same for everyone. Some callings appear great. Others seem small. Our works in Him are according to God’s will and our obedience, not our own ambition. I am learning that I must be satisfied with what God has called me to do, no matter how small it may appear. Even here, I sometimes struggle.

Yet it is precisely in that struggle that God’s grace prevails.

That is the part that still leaves me in awe. It truly is in Him that I live. Here and now, and in the life to come. I see this more clearly now than I did for many years, and I can only acknowledge that this too is grace.

The way of the Kingdom is not loud. It does not compete for attention. It does not promise immediate resolution. But it is sure, it is faithful, and it leads exactly where God intends.

And that is enough.

A CLOSING PRAYER

A Prayer to Our Shepherd

Lord Jesus Christ,
Our Shepherd, our Saviour, our King,

We come before You as sheep who know our need.
The noise around us is loud, the divisions many,
and our minds are easily pulled toward what we were never meant to carry.

You see the turmoil of earthly kingdoms.
You walked among it.
You endured it.
Yet You never surrendered Yourself to it.

Teach us to follow You in that same way.

Quiet our spirits, Lord.
Not by removing the storm around us,
but by fixing our eyes on You within it.
We confess how easily we measure faithfulness by visibility,
by outcomes, by what appears significant in the eyes of the world.

Forgive us for striving where You have called us to trust.
Forgive us for carrying burdens You never asked us to lift.

You alone advance the Kingdom of God.
You alone accomplish the will of the Father.
Our place is not to manage the world’s divisions,
but to remain faithful to Your voice,
Your way,
Your truth.

Teach us to be satisfied with the work You assign,
whether great or small,
seen or unseen.
Give us grace to obey without comparison
and to rest without regret.

When the path feels narrow and the cost feels heavy,
remind us that You have already walked it.
When our strength fails,
be our strength.
When understanding falls short,
teach us to trust.

We place our hand to the plow again today, Lord.
Help us to keep our eyes forward,
to walk the straight line You have set before us,
and to follow where You lead,
even when the way is costly.

Thank You that it is in You that we live,
and move,
and have our being,
now and forever.

We belong to You.
Lead us, Shepherd of our souls.

Amen.

From one sheep in God’s sheepfold to another.

Respectfully submitted for your consideration.

Worthy is the Lamb! Blessings!

Bruce Cooper is a disciple of Jesus, married to Peggy, with 5 grown up children, 7 grandchildren. He is retired from the Canadian Armed Forces and resides in beautiful Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. a.k.a. “Papa.” To read more of Bruce’s work visit Reasoned Cases For Christ.   

Featured Image by Leonhard Niederwimmer from Pixabay