A Kingdom of Nearness, Empowerment & Abundance
“For everything, absolutely everything, above and below, visible and invisible, rank after rank after rank of angels—everything got started in him and finds its purpose in him. He was there before any of it came into existence and holds it all together right up to this moment… So spacious is he, so expansive, that everything of God finds its proper place in him without crowding. Not only that, but all the broken and dislocated pieces of the universe—people and things, animals and atoms—get properly fixed and fit together in vibrant harmonies…” Colossians 1
As we begin another year it’s always meaningful and helpful to look towards and reflect on where God is at work around us and through us, and what we sense we are being led and called towards. Starting with an underpinning hope and faith in God’s promise and power is a key part of this.
God reigns over all, but the more I think about it and experience God at work over time, the more I’m realising this reign is something completely and utterly different to our human understanding and approach to reigning and ruling. Human rulers work to try to set themselves apart from and above others. In doing so they gain a type of power and control over others, but in separating themselves and raising themselves above others – in many ways they become less aware, less connected, less able to truly influence the lives of those around them. If humans are trying to get themselves to the top of some kind of pyramid, I feel like God’s rule is at the bottom of the pyramid, God reign is expressed in the way that God undergirds, underpins, and is foundational to the existence and nature of everything else. God rules because God creates, infuses and sustains all else. There can be no greater power or influence than that! But it is a reign of nearness, of intimacy, of loving kindness. It’s a reign that maybe we can be blind to because it is so fundamental and constant in the world, that our familiarity means we stop consciously recognising it.
And God seems to seek to empower rather than, or at very least far more than, exert power over in the way I’ve thought of by default. God’s power gives life, and then empowers that life to move and grow in a way that doesn’t seem tightly controlled and managed but instead trusts that through the ups and downs, undergirded by God’s loving presence, we as His children will develop, learn, adapt and change.
In a theological, and very real sense, I think this it what is at the heart of the life transforming impacts we witness through mentoring relationships and communities that are seeking to include, embrace and empower those doing life tough! My hope for the year is that we see more and more people in more and more places discover and participate in God’s empowering and life giving reign. That we don’t miss all the ordinary moments and interactions to be with others and to walk alongside others, for these actually hold the potential for extraordinary growth and goodness to be expressed.
Jesus says the kingdom of heaven belongs to those poor in spirit, and the earth is inherited by the meek. Heaven and earth ultimately and truly belong to those who are humbly, openly and simply themselves enough, to know and receive the reign of God and His abundant gift of life to the full. When we are trying to climb the pyramid and accumulate power, prestige, possessions, we actually reap a harvest of separation, isolation, and anxious insecurity. When we are meek and poor in spirit, through simplicity and authenticity, we are free to recognise and receive the reign of God and God is a ruler who reigns by giving us everything in abundance. This is our true inheritance as the children of God.
Sam Hearn
National Director
COACH Network