Kingdom MenНамуна

Kingdom Vision

When I first married, I was committed to doing my share around the house, but I quickly learned I was really bad at cleaning windows.

“How are you so terrible at this?” my brand-new wife asked, pointing out all the smudges remaining after my lame efforts. “You lived on your own for years. How did you clean the windows of your apartment?”

I responded, “You are generous to presume that I ever cleaned the windows of that apartment.”

My poor cleaning skills were partly an embarrassing lack of practice. Some of it was laziness, to be sure.

And some of it was personality—I’m not overly detail-oriented, and honestly, I really wasn’t seeing the smudges. My radar was not picking them up. I simply didn’t notice them, focusing instead on the view outside.

Perhaps some men reading this can relate.

Being Kingdom Men requires us to shift our focus.

Jesus taught us that the Kingdom of Heaven was right in our midst. But many who lived during His day couldn't see it. They didn't recognize the King standing right in front of them. They were focusing on the wrong things, just like I was focusing on the wrong thing when wiping those windows.

We can do the exact same thing with Him.

The stresses and struggles of this life pile up and have a way of taking our attention. The voices of our culture, our politicians, our news feeds, and our phones have a way of dominating what we see, hear, and think.

When this happens, we easily lose sight of the Kingdom of Heaven. The more immediate factors of this world can completely take over.

But Kingdom men shift their focus.

Kingdom men live in this world, but are not “of” this world (John 17:14-16). They aren't ignorant of what's going on around them, but they don't let it consume them. If they're going to be consumed by anything, they will be consumed by the King and His Kingdom. Jesus, His Word, and His ways have all of their attention.

Kingdom men keep their eyes focused on the most important things. When they do, they find the ways of the Kingdom in their midst.

Prayer: Lord, help me keep my eyes clearly fixed on You. Help me to see my life from Heaven's perspective. And help me to live faithfully as a man before You as I walk in this world. Amen.

Reflection: What does it mean to you to be a man who is “in the world but not of the world?” How can a man remain in this world without being corrupted by this world?