The mission that God has called His people to (Matthew 28:18-20) is one marked with discouragements, discomfort, difficulties, and danger. So why would anyone in their right mind endeavor to participate in such a mission? We do so because we have a right mind, a right spirit, and ultimately because we have a right love (Matthew 22:37-40). Our obedience to the mission, while birthed in our hearts, is manafested or shown in our lives as a whole. There is an old saying that states: People don't care how much you know until they know how much you care. Sometimes we live in the extremes of both ends of the spectrum. We either work on knowing alot about God and His word and fail to live it out in our lives and relationships or we love and serve people faithfully without sharing what we know. God however has called us to an extreme life that involves sharing both characteristics. We share our lives in service and we share our faith (the gospel) because only God can save, not my service.
There is another extreme that the church has exalted at the exclusion of the mission. The church in western culture (that's us) has become comfortable with the extreme of cheering on the mission without participating in it. Yesterday I mentioned that Jesus wants followers, not fans. He wants us to radically trust Him with our lives and our obedience. Does this mean that there is no place for cheering? Absolutely not! Our cheering is expressed in the praises that we express through prayer, testimonies, and songs. Cheering becomes a problem when it is all we seek and all we do. You see God has called us to an extreme relationship and an extreme way of life that counters the cultural norms. We should be standing out in the culture. We should do so not because we cheer the loudest but because we love and serve the loudest. We have wrapped ourselves in the comfy cozy blanket of big words. We have learned that all we have to do is say we believe and that makes it so. However, the epistle of James teaches us that "faith without works is dead (James 2:18-26)". Paul even stated that although we are not saved by works, we are saved for good works (Eph 2:8-10). At times we all are guilty of justifying our extremes. Big words don't necessarily convey a BIG GOD! We need words and actions harmoniously displayed in our lives. I need prayers, support and accountability to keep me on task with the mission, and if you are reading this, you do to. Extreme love, requires extreme obedience. This is extreme biblical truth for extreme Godly living. May the Lord provide opportunities this week to serve others, and share the good news of Jesus!
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When I committed my life to Christ, I committed to living this extreme life that you talk about. However, I am, to this point, guilty of comfortable living. Choosing the easy and internal faith that consists of study, prayer, and fellowship with other believers is not the full mission. I am "hot" on study and fellowship with other believers but "cold" on the charge to make disciples and to share my faith with the lost. What happens when you mix hot with cold? Like the church of Laodicea in Revelation 4, you end up with lukewarm. And lukewarm is not a compliment. I desire not to be "spewed out" as the Scripture says but to be used up for Christ instead.
ReplyDeleteSo what's the hold up? Honestly, I think it is a lack of trust. I don't trust Christ enough. I rest on my own abilities, or lack thereof, and that holds me back every time. What if I don't do a good enough job presenting the gospel? What if I turn them farther from Christ? What if they ask me something I can't answer? All of these concerns have one thing in common. It's all about me. If I don't present the gospel good enough, it reflects poorly on me. If I turn someone farther from Christ, it reflects poorly on me. If I can't answer a question, it looks bad for me. I don't trust that the gospel itself is beautiful and attractive and honest and eloquent enough to do the trick.
My thinking needs to change. I need to, in humble obedience, present the gospel. (A switch from the prideful arrogance that has prevented me thus far.)
I realized this weekend that some habits, one in particular, need to change. For me, inviting someone to church has been on par with sharing Christ. But that is NOT the same thing. In the early church people were converted first, then joined a body of believers. The disciples shared Christ first, then taught followers how to live. Somehow, we have gotten the order backwards. Nowadays, we invite people to church without ever giving them the gospel message, probably because we think that is the preacher's job. Then we wonder why the external behaviors don't change and why they don't "act like Christians." Most likely, that's because they haven't been born again. The desire to throw off the old and put on the new doesn't come from an inner source of personal strength. It comes from the Holy Spirit and the Holy Spirit only comes through a new life in Christ. So it follows that if people have not been born again, have not expereinced the transforming power of the Holy Spirit, that there will be conflict within the body of believers. This may seem like a rather large tangent from the original post, but if you think about it, these things are connected. If we, as followers of Christ, were doing our job of sharing the gospel no matter what the cost, then our modern day churches would be founded on like experience, like faith, and like obedience, which would result in healthy, disciple-producing churches, churches that are "hot" on all aspects of our faith.