Upside-Down Kingdom
By Hannah Hamm, CBWC Senior Writer
Hello Church. I think we can all agree that the world around us is complex and challenging as we go into the Fall of 2026. Maybe you're wondering what God is calling you to in the midst of everything. Should you just hunker down and focus on providing a safe, worshipful place for each other, or should you take an additional step into the pain and burden just outside? Sounds daunting, I know!
I’ve recently been struck by a central theme in Scripture with regards to the Kingdom of God. All throughout the Old Testament God speaks through His prophets, grieving as He sees His people focusing on ceremony and worship while ignoring the oppressed and impoverished people around them. We’ve all read the passages like Amos 5:23-24; “Away with the noise of your songs! I will not listen to the music of your harps. But let justice roll on like a river, righteousness like a never-failing stream!” Or the scathing accusation in Isaiah 1; “Stop bringing meaningless offerings... when you offer many prayers, I am not listening... learn to do right; seek justice. Defend the oppressed. Take up the cause of the fatherless; plead the case of the widow.” There are many more we could recite from Micah, Jeremiah, and Zechariah.
Jesus takes up this same theme with stories like the Good Samaritan, turning the people’s idea of “Who is My Neighbour?” on its head. Or consider His tale of the sheep and the goats in Matthew 25. Indeed, Jesus sums it all up with the simple invitation to Love God and to Love our Neighbour. His Kingdom, paradoxically, seems to be about caring for those who are often seen at the bottom of the so-called 'ladder', right in our neighbourhoods. As we seek Him together in our churches, receiving His Spirit's empowering, may He stir our hearts for what is breaking His.
For the next while, I have the enormous privilege of bringing you related, challenging stories from within our family of churches. I'm meeting and chatting with people, and groups, who are living out this “Upside Down Kingdom” commission. I hope you’ll be inspired by this series, maybe even aspiring, as Dallas Willard has said, “toward a remarkable richness in the lives (of those around us), not simply the alleviation of their suffering.”
Do you know someone, or some church, who is already answering this call in some way? I'd love to hear from you.
Hannah Hamm: hhamm@cbwc.ca
