Even If i Walk Alone

Instructing and encouraging you to live your life as a disciple of Jesus

Ephesians

Together We Fight

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What if we don’t change? What if despite all of our resources and knowledge we turn a deaf ear and a blind eye to the world around us? What if our desire to live for Christ never moves beyond just that… a desire? Will it even matter? Won’t someone else simply pick up my slack? It seems as if we live our lives believing that our contribution will not be missed if we skip it. I’ve been listening to David Platt talk about unreached people groups recently, and statistics show that over two billion people still have never heard about Jesus. That’s an incredible number. Nearly one-third of the world’s population is yet to be exposed to the truth and love of Jesus. By many estimates, that’s about the same number of people who profess to be Christians in the world. So, using easy math, if each one of us would simply go tell one of these folks about Jesus, we could cover the world. That would work, except most of us will never follow Christ’s command to go into all nations teaching others about Him. Most of us won’t even talk about Jesus in our own neighborhood. Suddenly two billion people are a staggering challenge, because most of us will not do our part.

Why this apathy? As followers of Christ we know we will one day have to answer to God concerning our actions here on earth. We know we will have to give an account for the things we did and did not do. It is my horrifying suspicion that what we didn’t do will far outweigh the things we did do. How can we ignore the commands of Christ as if they were irrelevant to our salvation? We are saved by the grace of God to do good works for Him (Ephesians 2:8-10). We are not saved by grace to sit around and watch the world die around us. We are called and chosen to take the message of Christ to all people. We are called and chosen to fight injustice and care for everyone in need. In short, we are called and chosen to live our lives the same way that Jesus lived His. Jesus was not passive in His mission. He actively pursued the fulfillment of His purpose.

Where did we come to believe that following Jesus meant praying a simple prayer and going to church on Sunday’s? Where is the scriptural reference for this kind of life? Yet this is what we have been taught and indeed continue to be taught in a great many churches throughout our country. We speak more of building campaigns and budgets than we do of ministering to the poor. We are taught the importance of regular church attendance and small group involvement, but rarely do we hear teachings on the command of Jesus to go out into the entire world. We’ll determine to perhaps take our cities for God but taking God outside of our city is a job for someone else. When did the church stop preaching the Bible? It frustrates and infuriates me, especially as I realize I have spent far too much of my own life buying into this very teaching. Satan delights in blinding us from the truth, all the while convincing us of our righteousness and spirituality. We have a mission and we have been neglecting it for too long. We need to get busy.

Will you join me? Will you come out of the safe confines of the churches to reach out to those who have never heard the name of Christ? We must refocus our gaze on the mission that has been set before us. We were created for a purpose and that purpose is to flood the world with the love of Jesus. Time is running out for all of us and we have none left to spare. Its fight or flight, and I will not turn my back on the one who gave His life for me. I will not turn my back on those who are dying without the knowledge and love of Christ. I will press forward and I am desperate for your help and talents along the way. We desperately need each other, and together in His strength, we will change our world for His glory.

Being On Mission for Christ

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It has often been stated both here and elsewhere that one of the primary challenges facing Christianity today is that we are known less for what we are for than for what we are against. Certainly there are things from which we who follow Christ must refrain. We should not engage in activities that do not mirror the love, beauty and glory of God. We were created and called to reflect Him, so any time we spend doing things that are antithetical to God, we are living outside of His will for our lives. Being a positive sort of guy, I’d like to concentrate more on the things for which we should be known. Frequent readers will recognize that we have covered much of this before, but each of us needs to constantly remind ourselves of why we are here. If we could keep our mission in the forefront of our mind, we would not waste so many hours asking questions like, “Why am I here?”, and “What should I do with my life?”

The reason we are on this earth is to glorify God by doing the things He told us to do (these are the things for which Christians should be known) in a way that reflects His love by serving others. We must all be seeking ways each day to help out someone in need, whether that means offering a helping hand, a kind word or some hard-earned cash. All of us have something to offer in service to another, and it is our duty to give what we have. There are no exemptions in life for those who are committed to following Jesus.

There are attributes we must model as individuals to reflect the glory of God. We are told to be humble, gentle and patient (Ephesians 4:2). Our lives should be marked by truthfulness and dignity (Ephesians 4:25, 28). Any words that come from our lips should be uplifting and positive, spoken to help strengthen and encourage others (Ephesians 4:29, 31-32). Christ modeled each of these traits even under intense persecution; we certainly should do no less within our comfortable lives.

Then there are the things we must do among our fellow believers. We should always be focused on keeping unity within the Church (Ephesians 4:3). Our lives should be marked by peace and not strife, because we all serve the same God (Ephesians 4:3-6). We have enough trials being thrust upon us by those who do not share our beliefs; we don’t need to add insult to injury by piling on from within our own body. Petty arguments have no place among followers of Jesus. We must remain focused on the mission and not allow ourselves to get caught up in things that have no eternal value.

Finally we are instructed to move outside of ourselves and our inner circles and serve the world around us. We are to give from our excess so that none goes without food, shelter or clothing. A special emphasis is required towards orphans and widows (James 1:27) which implies those who are most vulnerable and cannot help themselves. We have enough resources within the Western church to totally eliminate hunger from this world. We have the resources to make certain that everyone has access to clean drinking water. Yet the statistics do not lie; we simply are not choosing to get it done.

Let’s begin to change the perception of Christianity throughout our world. Let’s make the argument based on what we stand for rather than on what we stand against. Every one of us has a vital role to play in this endeavor. If each of us were to start doing the things for which Christ created and commanded us to do, we would quickly revolutionize our societies. If we would simply carry on the mission of Jesus, the one to whom we all claim to be committed, we would turn our cities upside down. We are the called and chosen. We are the ones who have sworn allegiance to the King. Will we now take up our crosses, follow Him, and change the world?

Is Jesus Enough?

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Is Jesus enough for you? If there was nothing else, no Heaven, no eternal life, just Jesus, would He be enough? Is the fact that He gave His life for you, suffered the pain of the nails for you, and drank in the depravity of your sin, enough to secure your devotion to Him? Do we want Jesus or do we simply want the good things that are promised to those who follow Him? Living your life as a follower of Jesus will surely bring with it a large share of very bad days. We live in a fallen world where the consequences of generations of sinfulness continue to compound with devastating results. We get sick, loved ones die and children suffer because of our choices and the ones made by those who came before us. Through it all we cling to Jesus, desperate for answers, despairing for hope. Would we continue to hold tightly to Him if there was no reward? Would we still love Him if there was nothing in it for us save for the love He gives in return?

We have been taught to evangelize, to tell others about Him so that we might have a hand in keeping their souls from Hell. We tell people they need Jesus so they can go to Heaven. We talk in terms of “saving” people and “adding people to the Kingdom”. Heaven becomes the goal and the reason for coming to Jesus. This misses the point of the relationship God intends for us to have with Him. He sent Jesus to redeem us because of His love for us, so that in turn, we would glorify Him through our love for Jesus. Our entire purpose for living, the whole point of coming to Jesus, is that we might show the Glory of God to the world. We were created to do good works for Jesus so that those who don’t know Him might come to see His beauty and His love. We are called to reflect the light of God to an oppressively dark world. Hope is found in the light, and the glory of God is light for the world.

We are culturally predisposed to give something to get something. When we give our lives to Jesus, the only thing we should be interested in “getting” is the opportunity to demonstrate His glory to others. The whole of our intent, the entirety of our purpose, should be focused on reflecting His beauty to everyone we meet. We turn to Jesus because we become aware of how hopeless life is without Him. We recognize the incredible love He has for us, as demonstrated by His willingness to lay down His life for our sake. There is no life outside of Christ; His death on our behalf allows us to live in Him. What does Christ get in return? He gets the chance to glorify His father through His creation. The point of life on earth is to glorify God. Every word we say, every action we take, every thought we think brings with it the opportunity to glorify God and to recognize His amazing power. Every conversation we engage in is an occasion to tell someone else of God’s love and Holiness. We must always point to the glory of God in everything we do. It is for this we were created, and for this we must live.

Is the love of Jesus alone enough for you to follow Him? Is your love for Him enough to keep you looking to Him in the trials of life? If you decided to follow Jesus simply to avoid Hell, you may need to double check your commitment. Do you really love Him or do you love that free pass out of hell? Do you love Him or are you simply enamored with the thoughts of living forever? If all else passed away, would you still love Jesus simply because of how He loves you? Is Jesus enough?

Time is of the Essence

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Even though we have no guarantee of even our next breath, we tend to lead our lives as if we will live for years to come. Most people lack the sense of urgency in their lives that we should all have as followers of Christ. We do not know how much longer we will have to further His kingdom on earth. The homeless person you walked by today might be the last chance you will ever have to help someone. The new outfit or video game you purchased today might be the last dollar you ever have the opportunity to spend. The time you spent mindlessly staring at the television might just be the last chance you ever have to be with your family. The lack of urgency with which we live our lives now will most certainly lead to regret later. I don’t want to live a life marked by regrets.

It is made clear in Scripture that no man knows the span of his days. We lack the ability to see the big picture of life unfolding around us and therefore have no idea when our earthly life will be taken away. That is a fact we cannot alter. What we can affect, however, is what we do with every second we remain in our earthly clothes. This is why it is vital that we live our lives with absolute urgency. Every encounter and conversation is vitally important. Each activity becomes one of great importance. Until we start recognizing every second as an opportunity to be the Kingdom here on earth, we will not be living out our mission to its fullest extent. It is hard work to remain so focused, but this is how Jesus lived His life, and so we must strive to live our own lives in this manner as well.

Whenever possible we should remove useless motion. Many confuse being busy with being effective. Our urgency must be interlaced with purposeful intention. It is not enough to be doing something; we must be doing the things that matter, the things that will make the most impact for Jesus. By being mindful of the mission we have been given, we can plan our days around doing those activities which please Him and allow us to reflect His love onto our world. We must live our lives in a manner that keeps us free from the trappings of this world so that we will be free to spend all of our efforts on doing those activities that will glorify Him.

Make time to pray for those around you, to ask for wisdom to discern the things you should do and how you should go about them, and also pray for the courage to follow through. The best way to live a life of urgency is to simply begin doing something. Look for opportunities to be the hands and feet of Jesus. Instead of being judgmental of others because of their appearance, seek to come up with ways that you might be of service to them. Pray for each person you encounter and be sensitive to what the Lord puts on your heart to do for that person. If you are standing in line at the grocery store and you feel a strong pull to pay for the groceries of someone else in line, do it! If you see a child with little money longing for a toy he can’t afford, buy it for him. If you see homeless people milling about, go grab some food and hand it out. Do the things Jesus told us to do. Don’t hesitate.

We have our marching orders. Move out, and do so with urgency. Make the most of your time because the days are evil (Ephesians 5:16). We have no guarantee of tomorrow, we have only today. In fact we have only this moment. How are you choosing to spend it?

Cultural Silos

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I have recently had the opportunity to attend a couple of events that cut across a wide swath of cultures. I have long been a vocal proponent of reaching across societal boundaries and have lamented the lack of diversity in most of our churches. For me, being at these events was especially rewarding and brought great joy to my heart. To be around people whose upbringing and entire culture has been vastly different from my own was encouraging and eye opening. The food, music, dance and style of worship all differed from that to which I am accustomed. While I found it both exciting and energizing, I could not help but wonder why these types of events are the exception rather than the rule.

Why is there such distrust among the family of God when it comes to cultural differences? One culture does not have all of the answers. We all grow in our walk with Jesus when we invest in the lives of others, regardless of their ethnicity or standing in society. We are all members of one another (Ephesians 4:25), so we should live in unity. There is a great passage in the book of Ephesians that tells us how we are to live with each other: we are to be honest, to only use words that will build up one another, and not be angry (see Ephesians 4:25-29). We often struggle to live this way among our own inner circle, much less when we reach out to those who we deem different from ourselves.

When Jesus came into contact with people, He didn’t consider where a person was from, how wealthy they were, or what their political affiliation may have been, He simply loved them and gave them His full attention. As the Creator of all things, He easily understood that every human soul is the same and He considered each one worthy of His love. Is this the way you and I look at people, or are we more likely to make a snap judgment of them based on hairstyle, clothing or the shade of pigment in their skin? The truth is we tend to huddle together with those who dress, act and look like us, affectively creating cultural silos across the Christian landscape. This is not what Jesus intended for His people; we were called to be one, not many.

We are the children of those who have gone before us, and we bear the scars of prejudice and genocide. Let us not be the ones who carry on the activities and perpetuate the mindsets that lead to division among people in general and the church at large. We are called to a higher standard; we are called to be more than this. We must rise above the fray and diligently do the work that leads to unity among all people. We are followers of Jesus and it is incumbent upon us to begin to live as if that were true.

I certainly have not yet figured all of this out, and I am definitely not above reproach in this area. Like everyone else, I carry the baggage of my generation and upbringing. I am learning though, and I encourage you to do the same. Don’t lock yourself into a cultural silo where everyone looks and acts the same. Branch out and discover what those who are different from you have to offer to your life and your faith. Jesus loves each of us the same, there is no favored class in Heaven. We need to rid ourselves of traditional stereotyping and begin to see the wonder in the great variety that is the human race. Our Creator is creative indeed; may we learn to dance in the beauty of our diversity.