Making the Invisible Kingdom Visible in Work, Leadership, and Life

by Dave Miller

The call of Jesus to repent and believe for the kingdom of heaven is at hand is not simply a moment of conversion. It is the ongoing heartbeat of kingdom life. This is the first command represented in the Church Waffle.

Repentance and belief are not a one time event but a continual invitation to live in the reality of a kingdom that is hidden in plain sight. In Acts 2 when Peter preached and they asked what they must do, he told them to repent and be baptized. This was not only about entering the family of God but stepping into a kingdom reality that was already present. The kingdom of heaven is not something we are waiting on. It is something Jesus declared is here at hand and available now.

For the covocational leader this changes everything. Ministry is not the only place the kingdom touches. The kingdom fills all of life including business, leadership, relationships, and work. Repentance is a constant turning of the mind and heart toward the design of God and away from the broken patterns of the world. Alienation pulls us out of the design but repentance and belief bring us back into abundance and life. We are not waiting for heaven to break in someday. Heaven has already broken in and because of that we can live differently now.

Because we are in the kingdom we are ruling and reigning with Christ in this life. That reign is synonymous with responsibility. In Scripture reigning means governing for the good of others. One of the clearest pictures of that in our world today is business leadership. A leader has the ability to provide employment, to open opportunities, to create revenue and wealth, to shape culture, and to build community. All of this can be for the benefit of people or for their detriment. As a believer reigning in the covocational life is the heartbeat of kingdom responsibility. We govern for the good of others.

When we understand that the kingdom of heaven is hidden in plain sight and when we repent as a lifestyle, not just as initiation, then we can live in that reality. We become a people who hand out and display the kingdom just as Jesus did.

Many people wrestle with the question of whether they should focus on sharing the gospel or on serving people in their work. But that question itself is rooted in a misunderstanding. It is not either preaching or serving. Yes we want people to repent and believe. But what we are really doing is showing people why the gospel matters by demonstrating the value and the better way of life in the kingdom. The gospel is not meant to be pitted against demonstration and demonstration is not meant to be separated from proclamation. The kingdom transforms everything from old creation to new. There is a bad way the world operates and a good way in the kingdom. When we live out the kingdom we show that the battle is already won, that there is abundance instead of scarcity, and that we can serve in freedom. The kingdom becomes visible and the gospel becomes an invitation into a life they can already see at work in us.

So we actually become a picture and we are able to say follow me as I follow Christ and imitate me as I imitate Christ. Just as Christ stood in front of the Jews and said the kingdom is here look at me and you will see it, we have the ability as ambassadors of the kingdom to say to those around us the kingdom is here look at me and you will see it. And if what you see is a better way then repent and believe for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.

So the opportunity we have in the covocational lifestyle is one of great benefit because it says that the kingdom of God is not something that requires us to throw away everything we are in order to find it. The value is that when we see the kingdom we take what is good in our lives and throw out what is bad and choose to believe the things of God. Repentance and faith allow us to step into the kingdom and live it because it is right in front of us. Jesus told two parables about this. The kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls. When he found a pearl of great price he sold all he had and bought it. Again the kingdom is like treasure hidden in a field. When a man found it he buried it then sold all he had and bought that field. Many interpret these parables as if the kingdom requires us to abandon everything familiar as if the kingdom is separate from our lives. But Jesus is showing something richer. The merchant was already searching for pearls. The man already valued fields. The treasure and the pearl were hidden in plain sight in the very places they were already active. When they discovered the thing of true worth everything else simply lost value. It did not erase who they were. It fulfilled what they were made for.

As covocational leaders our task is to make the invisible kingdom visible. We take what is hidden in plain sight and bring it into the open through our daily work and leadership. Then we boldly proclaim the invitation into that abundant life through Jesus who died was buried and rose again. Anyone can be initiated into this kingdom and live in its fullness for eternity if they will repent and believe in Jesus Christ.