Time for the Kingdom (3)
For “who has known the mind of the LORD that he may instruct Him?” But we have the mind of Christ. 1 Corinthians 2.16
The mind of Christ
In these last days, our Lord Jesus Christ has established a beachhead for His Kingdom in those who believe in Him and their churches. To them, Jesus reveals the secrets of the Kingdom, the mysteries of the coming of His unstoppable rule on earth as it is in heaven. In, through, and from them He is advancing a new administration of things on earth, as it is in heaven—the Kingdom economy. He sends the time of our lives, moment by moment afresh, fraught with opportunities for Kingdom progress.
Our calling is to make the best use of our time for the Kingdom and glory of our Lord.
To make the best use of the time of our lives we need to learn to see our time through the mind of Him Who creates, bestows, and upholds it. What does our Lord Jesus intend in giving us this most precious gift?
We may protest, “But who can know the mind of the Lord”?
However, Paul reminds us that, if we are believers in Jesus Christ we have the mind of Christ, the very Word of God, the same Word Who is creating and bestowing and upholding all the time of our lives. We have the mind of Christ! And all who have this mind are determined to push forward, advance, and bear fruit for the Kingdom and glory of our King (Phil. 3.10-14).
But if the mind of Christ in us is like an antique stored in the attic—treasured, but seldom used—it won’t do us much good. We must daily improve and be renewed in the mind of Christ if we want to understand the world—and time—as Jesus does (Rom. 12.1, 2; Eph. 4.17-24).
Time as Jesus sees it
How does Jesus Christ see the time He gives us each moment of our lives? What is His purpose in giving us this great gift? We want to be good servants and stewards of our time, so that we return to the Lord, Who gives us time, an investment of glory and progress in the Kingdom economy. The better we understand what Jesus intends in giving us the time of our lives, the more we will be able to redeem and make good use of our time according to His purposes and will.
According to Paul, in 1 Corinthians 15—echoing Psalm 110—Jesus Christ is presently working at the right hand of the Father to augment, improve, and advance His rule on earth as it is in heaven. He is developing, expanding, and advancing the economy, or administration ,which He launched on the first Christian Pentecost (Acts 2).
He sends out His Word to uphold the cosmos, gives His Spirit to bring new life to those who believe the Gospel, endows His followers with gifts and fruit, opens His truth and explains the secrets of the Kingdom to them, calls them to particular places of service, sends His angels to guard and assist them in their endeavors, and puts His enemies under His feet as He builds His Church and thereby fills the world with His Presence (Eph. 1.15-23).
So it must be the case that, in giving us each successive moment of time, Jesus intends us to receive and use our time according to His purposes in seeking and advancing His Kingdom. He has told us that seeking His Kingdom and righteousness is to be the defining priority of our lives (Matt. 6.33), and this would include the way we use our time.
Time for the Kingdom!
When we thus see our time through the mind of Christ, we understand that time is a precious resource for seeking and advancing the rule of Jesus Christ on earth as it is in heaven, so that righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit increase and abound in and through us, filling up all the time of our lives with love for God and our neighbors.
We are making the most of the time Jesus gives us when the time of our lives is invested in establishing and enlarging the footprint of the Kingdom of Jesus Christ.
No moments are given to us for any purpose other than seeking the Kingdom of God. This does not mean that every moment of our lives must be given over to doing “church work.” Since Christ is Lord of all—every aspect of human life and interest—we are using our time best when, whatever we are doing (1 Cor. 10.31), we’re employing it to further the Kingdom economy of God.
Even if all we’re doing is eating and drinking, or relaxing and enjoying a moment of well-deserved rest, we can do so in such a way as to refract the reality of the Kingdom of God into the ordinary events of everyday life.
But this doesn’t just happen. To live out the mind of Christ in the time of our lives we need to study the Word of Christ, thinking through everything He teaches us in His Word, so that we are able to keep the Lord always before us (Ps. 16.8), maintain an attitude of prayer without ceasing (Lk. 18.1) take every thought and every moment captive for King Jesus, and make our thoughts and time obey His good and perfect purposes (2 Cor. 10.3-5).
These are the last days. Jesus is revealing the secrets of His rule. God’s Kingdom economy is advancing on earth, and we are called to seek it, every moment of our lives. God has called us to His Kingdom and glory (1 Thess. 2.12). How could we settle for anything less in all the time of our lives?
For reflection
1. What does it mean to say that we have “the mind of Christ”? What are some of the implications of this for how we think about the time of our lives?
2. What in heaven is Jesus doing in your time right now? Does this suggest any guidelines for you in thinking about how to make the most of your time?
3. Meditate on Romans 14.17, 18 and Matthew 6.33. What is the Kingdom of God, and what is the nature of our relationship to that Kingdom?
Next steps—Preparation: What is your approach to seeking the Kingdom and righteousness of God? How much of your time does this involve each day? What are you doing with the rest of the time? Talk this over with the Lord, listening in silence for His response.
T. M. Moore
Give thanks
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: This week in our Read Moore we begin selections from our book, Understanding the Times. This book will be a valuable companion to our study of “The Kingdom Economy.” In our Crosfigell column we’re following Brendan, a 6th century Irish saint, as he pursues the Kingdom economy in his extraordinary adventures. Our daily Scriptoriumcolumn takes up the Gospel of John this week in our continuing series, “Jesus throughout the Scriptures.”
Thank you.
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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.
