The Upside-Down Kingdom

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Upside-Down Community – Chapter 12

There are similarities between Jewish home life then and American home life today. In Jesus’ time, most homes consisted of a nuclear family where the husband/father worked in some trade or profession to earn money to support his family. With some exceptions, that is how most Americans live today.

The upside-down kingdom is designed to work differently. It assumes a corporate community of believers that share their lives together. Community in the upside-down kingdom means that everyone in the community is of one mind, doing what Jesus commanded to fulfill God’s plan together.

The ideal community has the members setting aside their person ambitions, using their gifts and resources to help grow their community and the body of Christ. Parts of this type of community can be seen in some 21st-century groups in America. One example of a community living together in harmony, using their talents and resources to help one another is found in the Amish people. They are a deeply religious people who try to be obedient to God, living humble lives in a community. Where they may fall short, however, is that they are reclusive and do not go into the world sharing the gospel with others to grow the body of Christ. On the other end of the spectrum are some evangelical Christian churches that are dynamic in their witness to unbelievers. They do this in their quest to fulfill Jesus’ commandment to “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit” Matthew 28:19 (The New Oxford Annotated Bible). Where most evangelical churches fall is that they are still living in nuclear families, earning money and keeping most of their resources for themselves. They do this instead of living in a community and pooling their resources for the benefit of the community.

Conclusion

The upside-down kingdom of God as defined and implemented by Jesus was a game changer in the religious and social order of the first century. When practiced today it is still a game changer for the lives of those who live in a community. Living a life of humility, putting others ahead of oneself, goes counter to conventional wisdom. But living this way can be full of blessings and joy that is not experienced by society at large.

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References

Kraybill, D. B. (2003). The upside down kingdom (25th Anniversary Edition ed.). Scottdale, PA: Herald Press.