Peaceable Kingdom

Read Titus 3:1-11

If we watch closely enough, our kids can reveal a deeper understanding of Scripture in the mundane parts of life. Take board games for example. My kids started out with learning the board games that survived my youth. We were excited to try Uno, Connect Four, Candy Land and Chutes and Ladders. Classics that brought many memories. But also many lessons about winning and losing.

Enter Peaceable Kingdoms, a series of games that are focused on the players collaborating to win the game together, not against one another. We were given several by a family member, and the difference in how we played was insightful to watch unfold with my kids. Competition turned to cooperation and teamwork. A drive to bury the other player was replaced by a willingness to submit or sacrifice for another so the whole group can win.

Now, I know kids need to learn how to win/lose, and those classic games are still in the mix at our home, but this isn’t about parenting styles. The passage in Titus is about a lifestyle in the public square.

It is a lifestyle shift from seeking self-advancement, pushing away/down another group of people, endless debates, or partisan political fighting. It is about living in a peaceable manner that positions you to do good for all. (And sometimes doing good for all, means focusing on a few, to help the whole.)

But, it is hard to be good to someone from a distance, and it is even more difficult to know what is good without proximity. Praise God for His example found in the incarnation of Christ. A lifestyle of being faithfully present, in the midst of the hardest places in our world, bringing with Him the kingdom and His peace, patience, gentleness, kindness, self-control and love.

Take a moment to reflect on what our city, nation and world would look like if Christ’s followers would gently and humbly carry the Holy Spirit of grace, peace and goodness into the broken and hurting corners of our city, nation and world. What would it look like for the church? What would it look like for you?

May such a Peaceable Kingdom come.

by Dan Ryan