Upside-Down Kingdom Thinking

 By Julie Mangrum

Currently I am reading through the gospels. Right now I am in the book of Luke, and each time I read the gospels, I find new things and my heart is awakened to truly meditate on Jesus' words and actions. What has struck me the most is the notion of His "upside- down" way of life He calls His followers to.

What I mean by this is that when He stepped on the scene, His teaching challenged everything the Jews, and particularly the Pharisees 'thought' was the truth of God's Law (see The Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 5). Thousands of years had past, they had twisted the meaning, forgotten or interpreted it in a way that benefited 'them' (the pharisees and religious leaders) while neglecting a love for God's truth (Matthew 15:1-6).

A Much Needed Heart Change

Jesus was not afraid to point out on many occasions that these people (chosen by God) had lost their love for God, and their hearts were far from Him and His truth, as He rebukes them: Matthew 15:7-9 (NASB) — “You hypocrites, rightly did Isaiah prophesy of you: ‘THIS PEOPLE HONORS ME WITH THEIR LIPS, BUT THEIR HEART IS FAR AWAY FROM ME. ‘BUT IN VAIN DO THEY WORSHIP ME, TEACHING AS DOCTRINES THE PRECEPTS OF MEN.’” Jesus had to radically change their idea of truth by addressing their hearts (Matthew 15:18-19).

Renewing Our Minds

Meditating on this idea of Jesus' upside-down kingdom and of this revelation of questioning what we hold as truth got me thinking about Romans 12:2 (NASB) which says, "And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect."  It's a verse I have so often meditated on because renewing my mind seems like such a daunting, hard-to-understand, yet necessary command in the Christian walk. I find myself asking God to show me what it means to do this, because I want to do that which is pleasing to Him, and 'prove what the will of God is' as Paul says in Romans 12:2.

The AHA! Moment

It dawned on me, the same thing Jesus was showing the people of Israel 2000 years ago, is the same thing He is calling us to today -- renew your mind. Question what you've been taught about 'truth' in this world. Don't be conformed to it -- just as Jesus called His followers to in His time! So then, renewing our minds involves changing our hearts and challenging our ideas of 'truth', following Christ into His upside-down way of thinking - and living - so as to give Him glory and set us free. We can heed His call in John 8:31-32 (NASB) -- Jesus was talking to those Jews who believed Him, “If you continue in My word, then you are truly disciples of Mine; and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free.”

 

 Julie is a 30-something living in the Tennessee valley. She loves the Lord, her sweet husband and 3 dogs. She's passionate about disciplining women, good coffee, baking (and eating) gluten free foods :)