Kingdom Culture

I love my country, Malaysia. Regardless of how self-centred or power-hungry the politicians running the country can be, or how foolish and messed-up the government is, I still love my country deeply. For that was where I was conceived and that was where the Lord birthed and called me. Though it is lacking in so many things, I love the diversity, I love the people, I love the cultures, I love the beauty, I love the history, I love the memorials, I love the symbols, and I love the work of God there.

Yet, what has happened to my beloved country? Why has she been overrun by so many rogue parties tearing her apart? Why are her leaders so fired up when talking about peace and equality, yet so lackadaisical or negligent when it comes to implementation? How can it be that the nation that was founded upon mutual trust, respect and understanding has degenerated into its current pitiful state? Why do so many of its people still choose to live in their illusory world of bliss and ignorance while the stability of the social fabric is being ripped apart more and more every single day?

These are some of the questions that I truly do not have answer for. Yet, I want to serve the country that I love. I want to dare to believe that change is possible. I want to dare to believe that God can do the impossible, even in the midst of the media farrago, political tumult and social dissent. I want to dare to believe that the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ can cover the whole land of Malaysia and that the Kingdom of God will advance slowly, but surely to invade the entire territory of the Peninsula and the East.

Yet, would I have enough faith to stand up to the challenge and believe that the promises of God are good and true? Would I have enough life and grace to live out the Kingdom proclamation back home in Malaysia? Would I have the strength to stand if I bade farewell to Melbourne and established myself back in my home country? Is my training here preparing me for the battle that is ahead?

Our training now should be focused on grounding ourselves in the Kingdom culture that is universal and reproducible. But what is the Kingdom culture? In part, the culture of a kingdom is shaped by its laws, and vice versa. Similarly, the culture of the Kingdom is shaped by its laws. And as citizens of the Kingdom, we subject ourselves to the law of the Kingdom.

Paul tells us that there is only one law that we are subject to now and that is the law of the Spirit. Hence, to obey the law of the Kingdom is to live in the Spirit of the King who gives life to us. The law of the Spirit compels us to love God with all our heart, soul, mind and strength, and to love one another as we love ourselves. The law of the Spirit calls us to engage in faith in the understanding of the hope of resurrection and restoration, and in the evidence of things that are not seen. In essence, the live in the law of the Spirit is to choose Life*.

The trouble with me now is that I am good at knowing the law, but am faced with difficulty in practising it. I can readily articulate the phrase “Love your neighbour as yourself”, but when it comes to actually doing it, I often become cynical after minimal exertion. In theory, I know that I should “resist the devil and he shall flee”, but when it comes to delivering a punch to the enemy, I often miss and end up punching air.

Perhaps this is where the training needs to happen, training not only in knowing what to do, but also in actually doing it. What I need is a training that will prepare me to live in the law of the Spirit anywhere in the world as a citizen of a Kingdom that will soon invade every corner of the globe. What I need is training that will shape my culture and my lifestyle – in the way I engage with people, in the way I perceive the world, in the way I invest into relationships – into those that reflect my standing as an influential representative of a Kingdom culture that will soon overtake the entire world.

And sure enough, this training needs to begin now – in every relationship, every opportunity, every sphere of my life. And this training shall equip me indeed to stand as a representative of His Majesty’s law and culture anywhere I am, including Malaysia, a country that I love and one that will soon come under the rule of the God of Heaven and Earth. 

And I would not have it any other way...