It is a simple question, but a profound one. To answer it requires courage, for the question defines us. Our lives, our legacies, are known by the answer to this question. And the glory of God hinges on what we do with it. 

It is a simple question, but a profound one: How does my life advance the Kingdom of God?

I saw this question on a missionary application the other day, and it made me pause. The other questions were great as well, but this was different. This question gets down to the root of our existence, the reason God put us here. We exist to bring glory to God as His Kingdom is advanced through our lives. 

How His Kingdom is advanced obviously looks different for all of us. It leads some of us to public positions and some to obscure ones. It leads some of us to make much money and others very little. It leads some of us to a life of adventure and others to a life of service. But this truth marks all who gear their lives to strategically and intentionally answer this question: it's all about the “advance.”

Most of us in the Christian journey slip into a defensive rather than offensive posture. Life is about staying protected, hunkering down, and enduring the storms of life. Yet for those who grasp the reality of life, the cosmic nature of the battle around us, and our responsibility in it... that changes everything. Life is no longer about enduring suffering, but pressing into it. It's not about surviving a move of the enemy; it's about seeing our Lord's Kingdom surge into the darkness. Life is about invading darkness, about capturing the enemy's ground. It's about advancing our Lord's Kingdom at all cost. 

And therein lies the joy of the journey... celebrating our Lord and making His name known, all in the advance of His Kingdom. Only in this is our God-given purpose fulfilled, and our Lord as glorified as possible in our lives. 

So as our lives answer the question that marks each of us, may it be with purpose and joy. May we not shrink back, but surge forward… with strategy and with intentionality. The key is simply in the advance. 

"But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you." -Matthew 6:33 (ESV)