What Am I Doing in the Kingdom?

What am I doing in the Kingdom?
What am I doing in the Kingdom?

K. Hartnett, May 2002

This little poem presents a short theology of Christian living.  We should live in amazed, humble, and grateful awareness of God's grace to us in salvation.  As it says in Ephesians 2:8,9, "For by grace you have been saved, through faith- and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God- not by works, so that no one can boast."

Simultaneously we should also live motivated to advance God's kingdom in every way He inspires within us.  A healthy Christian is active in the business of good works- not to earn credit before God, that's impossible- but rather to demonstrate through all we do the reality of His glorious Gospel.  Ephesians 2 goes on to say in verse 10, "For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do." 

In Titus chapter 2, Paul gives us this other great description of Christian living:

"For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men.  It teaches us to say "No" to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age, while we wait for the blessed hope-the glorious appearing of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, who gave himself to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for himself a people that are his very own, eager to do what is good."