Kingdom Currency (6)

Then He said to them all, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me. For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will save it. For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and is himself destroyed or lost?” Luke 9.23-25

A new currency
There was a time when I did a good deal of international travel. Always, whenever you enter a new country, the first thing you do is head for the currency exchange. That old money you brought with you from whatever country you’ve recently visited won’t do you much good in this new one. You need to exchange the old currency for the new. Only thus will you be able to realize the benefits and make your way in this new country.

The same is true with the Kingdom of God.

In the old country of our sinful lives, the currency by which we made our way was that of self-preservation and self-advancement. Whatever we had to spend, in the way of time, energy, or resources, to advance our own wellbeing and ensure our future advantages, that’s what we did. Most of the time, perhaps, we tried to live within the parameters of right and wrong dictated by our conscience. We may even have done some good and kind things for others – albeit, never without some self-interest in mind. And if ever it seemed to compromise our moral convictions, and if we thought we could get away with it, well, that was just the thing you had to do.

In the “old country” our transactions with others were determined by self-interest, which is just a polite way of saying, “sin.” We loved ourselves more than anyone else, so whatever was necessary to satisfy our delights and help us to gain our pleasure – money, relationships, things, lies – was the “currency” we spent to make our way in the world.

The currency of the Kingdom
In the Kingdom of God, however, that self-centered, sinful currency will get you no place fast. Day by day we need to queue up at the currency exchange of God’s Word and prayer in order to hand over our old sinful ways and receive from the divine Treasurer that which we will need for a day of seeking and advancing the Kingdom of God.

Gaining the treasury of grace from the currency exchange of the Lord typically involves four steps.

First, you must consciously, sincerely, and completely deny yourself and any personal ambition or advantage. Before the Lord in prayer, acknowledge that you have no rights, deserve no privileges, have nothing with which to commend yourself, and exist only to know and further the pleasure and honor of God and Christ. You are not your own. You were bought with a price; therefore, prepare to glorify God and not yourself in everything the day brings to you.

Second, take up your cross. The cross was for Jesus the engine of self-denial, sacrifice, and service to God and others. The cross comes to us in the form of whatever God calls us to on any given day. In taking up your cross, you confess to the Lord that no pain will be too great for you to bear if only you can know and express His grace in the midst of it. You may have to go out of your way. You might struggle to suppress some self-serving attitude or emotion. Your effort to spend the grace of God may be risky, and you might be scorned, ridiculed, or even abused; but you will bear it with thanksgiving and rejoicing if only you can, by so doing, show the grace of God to others and enter more fully into that grace yourself.

Third, follow Jesus. Jesus walked the path of God’s Law (1 Jn. 2.1-6), the path of holiness and righteousness and goodness (Rom. 7.12), the path of love for God and neighbor (Matt. 22.34-40). Set your mind on the day ahead – the time God gives you, the people you will meet, the work you must do, the likely opportunities for showing grace that might crop up around you. Envision yourself as Jesus in those situations, and resolve to follow Him in the way He would go, showing love for God and neighbors in everything you do.

Finally, be ready to explain yourself. Some people, when they observe you living this way, showing by all your words and deeds the hope of grace and glory in which you live, will want an explanation (1 Pet. 3.15). Be ready to tell them. Be ready, with a smile and an outstretched hand, to lead them to Jesus and to invite them into the nation of grace and glory where you live your life each day.

You’ll need to visit the grace exchange every day, and perhaps many times during the day. Whenever you feel yourself, in any situation, reaching into your pocket for some old currency of mere self-interest and self-advancement, then look up to the Lord and line up for some grace, grace sufficient for whatever might be your need at the moment.

He Who has called you to His Kingdom and glory will hear, and if you delight in Him, He will give you the desires of your heart.

For reflection or discussion
1.  Why is grace the currency and the treasury of the Kingdom of God?

2.  Explain the grace exchange in your own words. Is this process at work in your own life?

3.  Are you ready to answer someone who asks a reason for the hope they see in you? What would you say?

Next steps – Conversation: Meet with a Christian friend and explain the concept of the grace exchange. Make a covenant with one another to practice this each day and all day long for a week. Then meet to discuss your experience of living in the grace of God.

T. M. Moore

This week’s ReVision study is Part 4 of a 10-part series, “The Kingdom Economy.” You can download “Kingdom Currency” as a free PDF, prepared for personal or group study. Simply click here. Start your day in the Word of God. Study with T. M. in our daily Scriptorium newsletter, as he walks us through the ongoing work of Christ in the book of Acts. You can subscribe to receive Scriptorium each day at 5:00 am Eastern, or go to the website to download each week’s study in a free PDF.

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Except as indicated, Scripture taken from the New King James Version. © Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.