KINGDOM WORK AFFECTS YOUR HEART
By Anne Wilson
Several years ago our family moved next door to a man named
James. James started every morning on his front porch, eyeing us
with disdain as we hurried into our cars to start the day. He
frequently reported us to the Home Owners Association (the police
of neighborhood yards) when our weeds were too high, and frowned
at us when we waved to him. He was a nuisance.
But he wasn’t just grumpy – he was lonely. Instead of seeing a
man suffering from loneliness, we saw a threat to our cozy little
lives. Our rushed and chaotic lives blinded us to his need – a
lonely, widowed, elderly man living next to us who needed
kindness. All we saw was a grumpy man waiting to turn us into the
HOA, not a man who needed the love of God.
When my husband and I committed our lives to Kingdom work, we
didn’t expect Him to break our hearts for our neighbor. But
that’s what Kingdom work does. When we ask God to break our
hearts, He does. And He often wakes us up to see the people who
are already in our lives. Kingdom work forces us to be honest
about our junk. We were living at such an intense pace that we
had slowly drifted away from Jesus’ second greatest commandment:
love your neighbor as yourself.
By the way, we did start loving and serving James. We send
cookies on holidays, mow his lawn when he’s out of town, stop to
talk during evening walks and pray for him as a family. We also
just got another notice from the HOA (from him). God doesn’t
promise that the people you serve will love you back. The reward
is a new heart. And that’s enough.
Anne Wilson is the content director at Traders Point Christian
Church. She blogs regularly at annemwilson.com
KINGDOM WORKER CHALLENGE:
KINGDOM WORKER WORSHIP:
KINGDOM WORKER AUDIO DEVOTIONAL:
KINGDOM WORKER CONVERSATION:
BRING. CHANGE. SHARE. 