Living for the KingdomSample

The Gospel calls us to surrender our lives to God, serving as His hands and feet in a broken world. ©2015 World Vision/photo by Jon Warren

Acting as the Hands and Feet of Jesus

We live in a world that is messy and complicated. So I’m thankful when the Bible gives me some clarity.

In his second epistle to Timothy, Paul said, “No one serving as a soldier gets entangled in civilian affairs, but rather tries to please his commanding officer” (2 Timothy 2:4). In the midst of our own “civilian affairs,” what has our own commanding officer asked of us? Simply put, we are to be Jesus’ hands and feet in a world full of people who desperately need the gospel.

Our job is not merely to believe the right things or to say the right things but also to do the right things. We are reporting to the high King, and our ways should reflect His ways.

What did Jesus do during His ministry? He cared for the widow, the orphan, the alien, and the stranger. He healed the sick and ate with the outcasts. He called out for justice and spoke up for the downtrodden. This is the most powerful kind of evangelism. It involves not just speaking the good news but being the good news.

Nothing in the gospel is more powerful than Jesus’ unconditional love for His suffering people. That’s what attracted so many to Him. And He expected His church to continue the work He’d started.

Imagine how the world would see Christians—and Christ—today if we didn’t just speak about loving our neighbors, but actually demonstrated Jesus’ selfless love by blessing our hurting world with tangible acts of compassion.

Jesus intended His transformative gospel of love, word, and deed to launch a spiritual revolution—one that had the power to change the world. And we, His church, are to be His foot soldiers in this revolution, serving as His hands and feet to those who need it most.