A different perspective

Our little home is on the left,in the garden of our hosts' house.

We are currently living in the smallest of worlds. Having travelled the globe over the past few years, the past few months have seen us confined to such a small place. Our day has consisted of time spent in our tiny home in our dear friends garden and often the only reason to venture beyond its four small walls has been to walk the few steps to their house to share breakfast, lunch or abendbrot with the family. Without a car too, our exploration of the region has been restricted to a ten minute drive to church with our hosts on Sunday, daily walks along the Rhine or the very occasional trip to visit friends. As I said, it’s a small world.

Papa has been speaking much to us during this time of confinement and it has clearly been with purpose that He has brought us into this small space. It’s a place of hiddenness in Jesus; it’s a precious place of simply remaining; it’s an intimate place wrapped in His presence; it’s a challenging place of yielding to transformation; it’s a quiet place where we can hear His still small voice; it’s a confined space but holds such freedom in Him.

It’s in the smallness of this place that Papa is revealing the expansive nature of His glorious kingdom. During a recent worship session Papa took me to the very edges of time and space to show me that His kingdom is still expanding, that as the Creator God He is still creating, for it’s in His very nature. In this place, amongst the clouds that are billowing outward, extending the Kingdom, I saw a picture.

From one of our few trips out, this one to Münster.

In this picture I saw a row of houses that extended into the distance, but rather than getting smaller toward the horizon, these houses got bigger. I believe He was showing me things from His perspective, one of expansion, rather than the world’s perspective, which is one of diminishment. I tried to draw what I saw but couldn’t - it’s so contrary to what we see and understand in this world that I found it impossible!

Today I awoke with such a vivid and present sense of expansion, not just for us, but for His Kingdom, for us as believers and lovers of the Lamb. I believe as we begin to see things from God’s perspective, that the Kingdom is advancing whatever our current circumstances, then we will see Heaven bursting forth. I believe this expansion is into every dimension, those which are seen and those which are unseen.

The Kingdom of Heaven is expanding

So I come back to our small world which, perceived through the world’s eyes is one of confinement and even diminishment, but from God’s perspective is one of liberty and expansion. The picture of the row of houses I believe holds another significant truth, for though the house nearest to me was small, it was a small beginning that grew to huge proportions. We can all rejoice in the smallness of our world, hidden in Christ, knowing that it’s from here that expansion happens and His Kingdom comes.