Living in a Different World
Living in this world isn't easy. We have created certain systems that are suppose to create order,
but have also inadvertently created a world where suffering and poverty persist. We have basic
human rights that are not accessible to all humans. The systems that run this world are largely
broken and most certainly don't benefit everyone. They work for a lucky few, but not for the majority
of humanity worldwide. For those unlucky ones, they find themselves trapped in an unending
cycle of poverty and an inability to keep their heads above water.
I was reminded of this as I went to work this week. Every morning a number of homeless people,
living in shelters or on the streets of Cape Town, are able to come take a shower and clean up at a
bathhouse run by a local NGO. We were able to give a few people basic toiletries and a towel. As
we handed out these basic toiletry kits, I was deeply aware of the grace that has been poured out
over my life. No matter how tough it gets when money is tight, or we have other needs that seem
impossible for us to cover, it has never been so bad that I didn't have access to basic sanitation or
to someone who is able to help me out. I've always had a place to call home. It's all grace. !
This world is not fair. Deserved or undeserved, being trapped is terrible. Feeling like you have no
hope is life-destroying.
When someone is not lucky in this world, it’s so easy to get stuck and pulled down into a very
harsh and unrelenting world that is only out for itself. But there is hope. There is a different way.
There is an upside-down kingdom that works in a different way. And when we start living in the
way of the Kingdom things start turing out differently.
The way out is to enter into the Kingdom of God. It's starting to live by a different set of rules, a
world based on love and caring for others, giving freely while receiving freely at the same time.
It's a world covered in grace. I am grateful for living in this Kingdom of grace today. I am grateful
that I can walk with the One who holds the world in His hands and pours out His grace over
me, over and over. I am grateful that His Kingdom works differently and that He continues to
give me second chances.
May you be reminded today of everything you have, and may you continue to live and work as a
person covered in grace in the Kingdom of God.