Kingdom Minded

During the London 2012 Olympics, the road race passed right through our area of greater London. It was exciting to stand at the sidelines and cheer the cyclists on.

I loved the strategy of Team GB, which was made up of five men. Their goal was simple. Each member of the team would take turns pushing through the wind to allow Mark Cavendish the opportunity to sprint the final length to win a gold medal for Great Britain (the United Kingdom). Only Cavendish would have won the medal, but all of Team GB would have rejoiced in their participation in the victory. This post would have been cooler had Team GB won, yet it still got me thinking.

I was reminded of the importance of being Kingdom Minded by their strategy, which was for each person to do his part so that the United Kingdom could get the glory of the gold. It didn’t matter who was thrust centre stage in the triumph. They had a common goal, and were willing to work hard and do their part. Even cyclists such as Brad Wiggins would give his all in the road race, possibly hampering his own chances of a gold in the time trials two days later (btw, Wiggins did get his gold in the time trials).

It is important for us as pastors to be Kingdom Minded. Are we more concerned for the glory of our particular church or the glory of God’s Kingdom? During the race, a few churches (all gospel-preaching, including ours) were reaching out with the gospel. There was an understanding that in the Body of Christ, some of us together on Christ’s mission was better than all of us on our own mission. This ought to emphasise our unity in Jesus and the great truth that gospel unity in the midst of diversity magnifies Jesus the Lord of the Church rather than one expression of it. Surprisingly some Christians compared our giving out the gospel as a competition between the churches. Yet, if someone came to Christ and went to a different church (as long as that church was gospel-centred), We should rejoice. Why? Because God’s Kingdom is furthered!

We must be careful that we don’t become like the mistaken disciples in Mark 9:38-40, who thought that they were the only show in town. If it’s Jesus’ Kingdom that we race for, then as long as he is glorified, we are victorious.