Living Small in a Big Kingdom

The world tells you to go big. Build a big life. Big house, big career, big reputation, big platform. Make your mark. Leave your legacy. Live large, man!

But Jesus said His kingdom works differently.

• The first shall be last. (Matthew 19:30)
• And whosoever of you will be the chiefest, shall be servant of all. (Mark 10:44)
• Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone. (John 12:24)

I've been thinking about what it means to live small in a big kingdom. Not small in ambition for God's glory—I'm talking about small in ambition for my own.

What if the most important work we ever do is the work nobody sees? The character we build in private. The prayers we pray in secret. The children we raise in our homes. The faithfulness we show to our family and our church family year after year when nobody's clapping.

Our legacy isn't about the size of our platform. It's about the depth of impact we make on the few people God puts in our life.

The world will tell you that you're wasting your potential. The world will preach to you: climb more ladders, build your brand, and expand your influence. I disagree with this. I think we're called to be faithful where God has planted us. I think that is our highest calling.

Maybe staying in the small church is better than chasing the big one. I'm certain that it's more valuable for parents to pour their time and energy into their three or four kids, rather than impressing thousands online. I'm also convinced that the small acts of obedience matter a whole lot more than the grand gestures.

I'm not saying ambition is wrong. I'm saying selfish ambition is. There's a difference between wanting to do great things for God and wanting to be seen as great by men.

The kingdom isn't built by people who need attention. It's built by people who are faithful in obscurity. By the saints nobody's heard of, who just kept showing up, kept praying, kept serving, kept fighting the good fight.

Your life doesn't have to be big to matter in God's kingdom. It just has to be faithful.

Live small. Love God and God's people. And God will take of the rest.