In a world that often equates success with status and wealth, Jesus calls us to something radically different—His upside-down kingdom. In this inspiring blog, Tiffanie Limbrick shares how a mission trip to India and a powerful testimony of faith challenged her perspective on sacrifice, obedience, and true greatness. As she reflects on the courage of a woman who risked everything to follow Christ, Tiffanie invites us to consider how we, too, can bring God’s upside-down kingdom into our everyday lives—especially in the workplace. Whether through prayer, service, or bold acts of faith, this is a call to lead with humility, love, and purpose right where we are.

Jesus’s mission is to establish God’s upside-down kingdom on earth. This is referenced throughout scripture (e.g., Matt. 20:26-28; Luke 6:17-49), but what does this mean and how do we do our part to bring God’s upside-down kingdom here? My mission trip to India provided some insight.

Our host shared the incredible testimony of her family’s story of becoming Christ-followers. My friend’s grandmother was the first in her family to become a Christian. Her family was fairly well off and one of the high castes in India—which translates to wealthy, well-respected, and well-treated in the community. When her grandmother became a Christian, she was thrust into the “untouchables” caste—the lowest of the low. Her life was literally and figuratively flipped upside-down. This impacted her business, how she was treated, how her husband and children were treated, and her ability to interact with the community (at the grocery store, shopping, friends, etc.). As my friend told her grandmother’s story, I wondered if her grandmother knew the consequences of following Jesus when she made that decision. Probably not. She was the first in her village to follow Jesus. She may have had an inkling but probably no real sense of what would happen since no one else had done it before. Even her own children hated her for following Jesus given the bullying they experienced as a result of her decision. But God.

God worked through my friend’s grandmother to heal people in the village, bringing more and more people to follow Jesus. Eventually, my friend’s mother decided to follow Jesus when she was in her 20s. Now my friend’s mother—she knew what she was getting into. She knew the consequences of following Jesus—the caste she would be in, the mistreatment she would endure, the effect on her business—and she decided to follow him anyway. She embraced the upside-down kingdom because she knew the reward was greater than anything that the Indian caste system could offer.

In most Western countries, we do not have anything similar to a caste system but we do have a culture that values fame, celebrity, achievement, wealth, grandeur, popularity, treasure, and more. These are not the things that God values in his upside-down kingdom. He values the fruits of the spirit. He values serving the “least of the these”—the widows and the orphans. He values loving Christ and others before ourselves. He values making disciples of all nations.

While some of us may work in vocational ministry, many more of us are called to work in workplace ministry, i.e., the secular workplace. How do we usher in God’s upside-down kingdom in the workplace? First, pray and ask God how he would like you to minister to the people in your workplace. Second, start small – practicing extraordinary hospitality, being more open about talking about your faith in the workplace, and praying for your coworkers and business. Third, consider whether to start a faith-based group at work, such as a bible study or marketplace mission trip. And if faith-based is not welcome at your workplace, consider a service project.

Paraphrasing Jesus, let’s be great by being servants in the workplace (Matt. 20:26) and work to usher in God’s upside-down kingdom together.

Tiffanie Limbrick is an attorney and mama to Josh. She is passionate about leading and empowering women both in and outside of the workplace. Tiffanie believes that every woman has the power to change the world, even if it’s just her little corner of the world. When Tiffanie is not running after Josh, you can catch her curled up on the couch reading a good book.