X Squad has made it to Honduras and it is crazy beautiful here.
Kylie and I are on the third country of our squad-leading journey and one thought is hitting me really hard this afternoon: how vast and beautifully diverse is the Kingdom of God.
I’m not sure I have ever said this as directly as it needs to be said, but the diverse manifestations of the Kingdom of God is what makes mission work, discipleship, and life itself worth pursuing.
In terms of scenery, we have moved from the dense jungles of Costa Rica, which looked a lot like a scene from Jurassic Park to the lush, rolling, volcano-laden farmland of Nicaragua, and now to the pine-covered mountains of Honduras (we are over a thousand miles above sea level in Valle de Angeles), in which the scenery looks a lot like Canada.
In terms of ministry, we have been through the proverbial gamut with X squad, recovering addictions, deliverance, prophetic and pastoral giftings, artistry, longing, numbness, hope, celebration, lots of tears and just as many shouts of joy.
It goes without saying, but it is also very much worth saying, that this is the beauty of the Kingdom of Heaven. It points to how big God is, all of these unique manifestations of His Presence, a universe full of atom-sized reminders of who He is.
That is why we are here. We see Jesus in these world racers. We see Jesus in these countries. We see Jesus in ourselves. Every blink is an opportunity to appreciate a new angle of the fullness of the King of Glory.
It is not always easy, but it is always worth the effort. It is not always happy, but it is worth all the feelings. It is not always comfortable, but it is worth the striving. The Kingdom of God is shouting from every rock in every village and city of every country of this world. The Kingdom of God is pulsating from every soul and every face that was created in His image and is desperately searching for His purpose.
I am beyond thankful for the chance to see it. This journey is the blessed prospect of pushing the boundary of my understanding of God a heart further, a sunset further, a set of eyes further, a laugh further, a struggle further.
Although I often wonder whether it is our similarities or our differences that make us most beautiful, most like God, most unified in the body. I wonder if it isn’t both, a balance of celebrating that diversity is an invitation into deeper unity, a summons to an intimacy that we could never realize if we didn’t have to fight for it, as well as an eternal reminder that all things come from and work toward the glory of the God of all things. We are spread out but we come from the same spoke. We are rays of sunshine spread over the entirety of eternal space and time, originating from the same source.
It’s all a big hairy mystery to me, but the more I experience it, the more I yearn to celebrate whatever is going on in me and within all of us.
