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 in the Kingdom economy 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—though 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, 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 work of 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. See your plan of grace action before you arrive in it. Then make sure you have the grace you need for all the time of your life.
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.
Open 24 hours
You’ll need to visit the grace exchange every day, and perhaps many times during the day. Happily, the exchange is open 24 hours a 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
1. Why is grace the currency and the treasury of the Kingdom of God?
2. How would you explain the grace exchange to a new believer? Is this how you “do business” in your 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
We need grace for all our times of need, and all the time of our lives is time of need. Yikes! How can we make sure we have the grace we need? Our book Grace for Your Time of Need, can help you develop the discipline of drawing on God’s grace for all your time. It’s also available as a free PDF.
If you have found this meditation helpful, take a moment and give thanks to God. Then share what you learned with a friend. This is how the grace of God spreads (2 Cor. 4.15).
Other columns of interest this week: In our Read Moore column this week, we continue readings from the book, Such a Great Salvation. Our Crosfigell series on Brendan of Clonfert finds him ready to resume his journey westward over the ocean. You can subscribe to Read Moore and Crosfigell and receive them in your email regularly. Use the Subscriptions box at the bottom of the page to update your subscriptions. All subscriptions are free. Click the Articles tab on the home page to see all the selections available to you.
And please prayerfully consider supporting The Fellowship of Ailbe with your prayers and gifts. You can contribute online, via PayPal or Anedot, or by sending a gift to The Fellowship of Ailbe, P. O. Box 8213, Essex, VT 05451.
Except as indicated, all Scriptures are taken from the New King James Version. © Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved. For sources of all quotations, see the weekly PDF of this study. All psalms for singing are from The Ailbe Psalter.
