Ultimate, Unshakable Wisdom

His voice shook the earth at that time, but now he has promised, Yet once more I will shake not only the earth but also the heavens. This expression, “Yet once more,” indicates the removal of what can be shaken—that is, created things—so that what is not shaken might remain. Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful. By it, we may serve God acceptably, with reverence and awe, for our God is a consuming fire.
Hebrews 12:26–29

Once we are one with the King and safely stowed in Wisdom’s house, we are no longer a part of a shakable earthly kingdom; we are now part of the everlasting kingdom that shakes the earth.

The kingdom of God doesn’t come with our careful branding, our public proclamations, news articles, powerful speeches, cultivated social media management, or strategic movement shaping. Those things have their place, and God will judge the effectiveness and wisdom of them all. That is, by and large, all earthly business.

God’s kingdom is far more likely to come from among the unpopular, unlikely, unknown, and unheard; from among those engaged in the daily grind and who are faithfully bringing light to the shadows. Just as Christ came to this burdened, darkened world. Those humble enough to admit that their arms alone are too weak to shake anything temporal or eternal.

The names of ordinary people mark the book of Acts far more impressively than the names of kings, rulers, and culture shapers.

God is still making a holy nation of His own, a people for Himself.

The earth is the one who is shaken. It is shaken through the King’s quiet intrusion as a baby, born far away from prying eyes, at the moment when everyone is looking for a king to establish a new political rule, a prophet to deliver a long-waited word from God after much silence, or a priest to move.

This King has surprised the world with an unshakable kingdom that brings the world a different kind of politics—not antipolitical; not a rejection of culture—it’s living an “other culture” altogether. It’s a politics based on the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. It is based on Him, and the realities of creation, fall, redemption, and glory. Wisdom has arrived on the scene as the subject and content of His own story as Prophet, Priest, and King arriving as one.

We were literally created to inhabit Wisdom’s story, and it’s Wisdom’s story, embedded in the universe, that sets us apart from Folly’s. Our identity, our story of the fulfillment of promises in Wisdom’s perfect timing and with its nature-defying details; this story will determine our priorities and set us free as members of the unshakable kingdom.

Earthly politics: important, but not ultimate.

History and social movements: important, but not ultimate. Nations, tongues, and tribes: important, but not ultimate.

Christ and the wisdom of His kingdom: ultimate.

God is still making a holy nation of His own, a people for Himself. This kingdom isn’t shakable, but rather shakes everything around it. Moreover, it shakes us in a proud way, by the wisdom and deeds of the great King we serve . . . and we are to remain steadfast because our foundation is in Him.