“I assure you, today you will be with me in paradise.” –Luke 23:43
Jesus called a little child to him and put the child among them. Then he said, “I tell you the truth, unless you turn from your sins and become like little children, you will never get into the Kingdom of Heaven. So anyone who becomes as humble as this little child is the greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven.” (Matthew 18:2–4 NLT)
If you were like most children, when you were young you were well acquainted with what the world looks like when flipped upside-down, whether it was while hanging from monkey bars, when sitting inverted on the living room couch, or as your father or an older sibling was hoisting you up by your ankles. This inverted perspective gave you a new point of view through which to see the mundane and everyday world around you.
Likewise, the upside-down nature of the Kingdom of God inverts our point of view so that the mundane and everyday world around us is seen through a heavenly perspective. Timothy Keller writes, “The mark of what makes you a Christian is a reversal of values. The things that the world considers pitiable we prize.” The values of the Kingdom of God run counter to the values of this world, but living within this upside-down perspective is not automatic. In what areas of your life are you still captive to the world’s perspective?