A simple shoebox was all it took to remind me that the kingdom of God is alive and well.
This Christmas season, I volunteered to serve at a processing center for Operation Christmas Child. Operation Christmas Child is a ministry of Samaritan’s Purse, an international relief organization, with a mission to “demonstrate God’s love in a tangible way to children in need around the world” through the collection of shoeboxes filled with toys, school supplies, and hygiene items.¹ Boxes are lovingly packed by individuals, families, and churches and then collected and transported to one of eight processing centers to prepare for distribution to needy children all around the world.
Once the boxes arrive at their destination, they are gifted to children through local outreach events where they hear the Gospel of Jesus Christ, some for the first time, and are invited to participate in a discipleship program, The Greatest Journey.
“Since 1993, more than 198 million children in more than 170 countries and territories have received an Operation Christmas Child shoebox.”¹ And this season, the 200 millionth shoebox will be delivered to a child in Ukraine.
The magnitude of this mission captivated me as I served in the processing center.
I saw the generosity of donations, the army of workers and volunteers serving, the pictures and videos of shoeboxes being delivered throughout the earth…by camel, by boat, by foot, by train through the mountains…and I felt a reassurance in my soul that the kingdom of God is alive and well.
It’s so easy to look at the world around us, to see the onslaught of bad news, and think the kingdom of God is something only in the future. War, sickness, division, loss, and sin run rampant and the prince of darkness seems to have more power than the King of righteousness.
It’s true that the full realization of his kingdom has not come yet, but God’s kingdom is nonetheless present today.
As Jesus said in Luke 17:20-21, “The kingdom of God is not coming in ways that can be observed, nor will they say, ‘Look, here it is!’ or ‘There!’ for behold, the kingdom of God is in the midst of you.” (ESV)
It’s not always observable on the surface, but God is mobilizing his people. His hands and feet are in motion. He is breaking into darkness with light. He is reaching the ends of the earth with Good News. He is making disciples of all nations. (Matthew 28:19-20)
This stuff doesn’t make headline news in our culture, but it does not negate the reality of what’s happening. In those same disaster regions we do see on the news, something else is happening. God’s Word is going out. Lives are being changed. God IS at work, and he can’t be stopped.
May our hearts stay engaged with what the King is doing.
…
To read more about the work of Operation Christmas Child or Samaritan’s Purse visit their website:
https://www.samaritanspurse.org/
¹”Operation Christmas Child: Mission & History.” Samaritan’s Purse, https://www.samaritanspurse.org/operation-christmas-child/mission-and-history/