Fighting for Kingdom Moments
Written by Caleb Hixon, published June 2021
Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.
(Matthew 6:10)
In between my junior and senior years of college, I spent a summer in Kosovo on a mission trip. Kosovo is a small central European country that recently gained its independence in 2000 through a brutal war with Serbia. The country at the time was about 90% Islamic, but with their newfound independence, things were changing for Kosovo. And that’s why I was there. To build relationships with young adults through a youth leadership program in hopes to share the gospel.
But, despite things being ripe for change in Kosovo, it was a very rude cultural awakening for me. Up until this point, I had never spent any real time in another culture where people not only didn’t speak the same language, but they didn’t even worship the same God. I still have a vivid memory of my first night in the country being awoken at 4am to what sounded like some drunk guy on a PA system singing his heart out. No one had warned me about the Islamic call to prayer. This was the moment that I realized I was wholly out of my element. I was in a foreign land.
Part of this was exciting at the time. I was young, bright-eyed, & ready to make a difference. But as the summer waned on, I began to long for home more and more. Not in the traditional homesick kind of way, but more for things like people who spoke English, or food not named goulash. I can remember sweet moments throughout that summer where I would get glimpses and tastes of home. Whether it be watching the men's US National Soccer Team play in the world cup or dinner with a fellow American, I cherished these times because they reminded me of home.
I even remember walking down the street one day and through the flood of people speaking Albanian I heard, like light piercing through the darkness, a woman speaking English. Immediately my eyes lit up and I walked straight over to her and with a goofy grin on my face I said, “YOU SPEAK ENGLISH!”
While I thoroughly enjoyed my time in Kosovo, I am not Kosovar. I am an American. And while I was away from my home, I treasured moments that reminded me of who I am.
For those of us in Christ, I believe this is what it means to experience Kingdom Moments. You and I are citizens of heaven (Phil 3:20). We have been made a new creation (Gal 2:20). This is not our home. And while we get to be good stewards, our kingdom is not this earth. Because of this, a kingdom moment is like experiencing the joy of hearing someone speak your native tongue in a foreign land. It’s a glimpse of what we were made for. It’s the moment where heaven and earth overlap.
We see this all the time with Jesus and his ministry. He walks around healing the sick, turning water into wine, driving out demons, feeding masses of people, and more! And one of his favorite phrases was, “The kingdom of God has come near to you” (Lk 10:9) or “The kingdom of heaven is at hand.” (Mt 10:7)
These moments are not the norm, though. We must fight for them. We live in a fallen world where sin and destruction await us at every turn. Jesus tells us to go and proclaim. In other words, go and wage war on anything that hinders the power and presence of God.
The great thing about Kingdom moments is that they can be anywhere, anytime. Maybe you’ve first or second-hand experienced one of the more grand Kingdom moments like God healing you or a loved one, or a friend whom you’ve been praying for to come to Jesus finally does, or a miraculous answer to prayer. And while these are most definitely Kingdom moments, the way the earth should be, there are Kingdom moments in the day-to-day things as well. You could be having coffee with a friend where sin is confessed, or see a need in your group text and respond in generosity, or contend with a brother and sister in prayer.
This is possible because these moments are more about our hearts treasuring Jesus than our actions perfectly performing the right rituals. You can set up an elaborate dinner party and busy yourself like Martha, missing out on the kingdom moment while Mary sits at Jesus’ feet. (Lk 10:38-42) The key to kingdom moments is living like Mary in a Martha world.
Think about your regular rhythms. What are the moments in your life that are kingdom moments? If you’re having a hard time coming up with an answer, how could you start pursuing kingdom moments? In your day-to-day, in your work, or even in your family or roommate rhythms, where does the kingdom break in and heaven overlap with earth? Where are the times in your life where things are as they were intended to be? What would it look like for you, your family, and/or your city group to fight for kingdom moments?