Where we have been
If you’ve read the last two blog posts, you are up to speed on two of the fundamental truths of the kingdom of God—first, that the kingdom of God is the reign of Jesus, and second, that Jesus reigns through delegated authority. Now, we can go deeper into how the kingdom of God works and how our work fits into the kingdom of God.
Your desk is kingdom territory, or better, it can be. That sounds strange, but think about what a kingdom is.
Kingdoms and territories
Every kingdom has territory. That territory is defined by borders which separate the area ruled by that kingdom from the area outside ruled by others.
Borders are not always easy to see because in real life they are not always marked. If a major highway crosses a border, there may be a border guard or a sign that says, “Welcome to Kansas.” But most of the time the only way we know there is a border is by looking at a map where someone has drawn the borders.
Now, I’m not a real estate lawyer, but what I’m getting ready to tell you is what we call “black letter law,” meaning it is not really subject to dispute. It is this: there is a difference between ownership and possession. Someone may have title to a particular piece of property, while someone else has possession of it. This can happen when the owner rents out the land to a tenant, but it can also happen when someone takes possession of land that doesn’t belong to them—a squatter, for example.
Owners vs. possessors
As Christians we know that the Lord owns everything. Psalm 24:1. In other words, He has legal title to all the people, places, and things on the earth. In the beginning, God commanded Adam and Eve to take dominion over the earth and rule over it, meaning that God gave lawful possession of the earth to them. But when they sinned, they handed possession of the earth over to Satan. See John 12:31; Luke 4:5-6; 1 John 5:19. The lawful tenants gave possession of their property to another, who has ruled that territory in a manner contrary to the intent of the lawful Owner.
When Jesus entered space-time history through the incarnation, He told people the kingdom of God had arrived, and it had. See Matthew 4:17. The legal owner had come back to assert His ownership over His property.
Then, before He left the earth, Jesus entrusted that property to His servants. And, as we saw in the last post, He now rules primarily, though not exclusively, by delegating His authority on earth to those who are obedient to Him.
What this has to do with your desk
So, what does all this have to do with your desk?
Your desk is part of the earth. It is a place and a thing. And here is the exciting part: your earthly boss has given you authority over it. You can put whatever you want in it. You can make decisions from it that help people flourish or decisions that harm them. You can produce quality products and services that bless customers or mediocrity that frustrates them.
Your boss may not know that ultimately you are obedient to a higher Boss. He probably does not know that King Jesus places obligations on you that are higher ethically and in terms of excellence than he demands. And he probably does not know that by ceding that desk to you, he has just expanded the territory of the kingdom of God on earth.
And He has expanded the kingdom of God because you are responsible for what happens at your desk. If what happens there is done in obedience to King Jesus’ will and standards. you have brought His rule to earth, as surely as He was the one sitting at that desk.
In the kingdom of God, responsibility defines territory.
And that is how your desk becomes Kingdom territory. GS
