I have been chewing on the question, "What does it mean to be a missional Christian?" One of my friends here at college, when asked what his job or occupation was, said, "Well... A missionary... I guess." His words rattled me. We as Christians often miss this: GOD does not want us to just lay back and enjoy life while we wait for Heaven; His will is that we actively advance His kingdom of love and justice. Christians are, at the core, missionaries, no matter age, gender, ethnicity, location, occupation, or education level. We think of "missions" work as being that of going down into Latin America or overseas to the slums of Africa to spread the gospel and show GOD's compassion and love for the poor, broken, and destitute.
What makes us think that we Christians in America are any less of missionaries? Do we not live in a society where the message of Christ is watered-down and fed through an IV-tube to lukewarm masses? Do we not live in a society where pluralism dominates and the gospel is put on the backburner? Do we not live in a society submerged in the "ways of the world," as scripture puts it? What makes us think that GOD wants us to sit on our butts, watch TV all day, and do nothing on our own streets, in our cities and towns and villages and neighborhoods?
We need to re:think our roles in society. We as Christians need to adopt GOD's mission (His mission of reconciling all things to Him, His mission of advancing His kingdom, His mission of making the world a better place). We need to really pursue GOD, to take seriously our role as Jesus' students in the art of living, and we must actively pursue interacting with GOD in His kingdom. We must again become dependent upon GOD's Spirit and power, just as the early Christians were. We must view and embrace evangelism not as something that is done, perhaps as a chore or as a duty, but as a way of life characteristic of the disciples and students of Christ, characteristic of GOD's chosen people. We need to partake in the mission of Christ, using the talents and skills that we have to contribute to the community of GOD and to contribute to the welfare of the world in whatever ways we can. We need to live with and interact with GOD in our daily, mundane lives. We need to live in a way that proclaims the kingdom of GOD, live in a way where we share in the life of Jesus, live in a way that we do the work of the Spirit. We need to understand again that we are not just remaining on earth to wait for Heaven; we are here to adopt GOD's mission and advance His kingdom to all the people of the earth!
What makes us think that we Christians in America are any less of missionaries? Do we not live in a society where the message of Christ is watered-down and fed through an IV-tube to lukewarm masses? Do we not live in a society where pluralism dominates and the gospel is put on the backburner? Do we not live in a society submerged in the "ways of the world," as scripture puts it? What makes us think that GOD wants us to sit on our butts, watch TV all day, and do nothing on our own streets, in our cities and towns and villages and neighborhoods?
We need to re:think our roles in society. We as Christians need to adopt GOD's mission (His mission of reconciling all things to Him, His mission of advancing His kingdom, His mission of making the world a better place). We need to really pursue GOD, to take seriously our role as Jesus' students in the art of living, and we must actively pursue interacting with GOD in His kingdom. We must again become dependent upon GOD's Spirit and power, just as the early Christians were. We must view and embrace evangelism not as something that is done, perhaps as a chore or as a duty, but as a way of life characteristic of the disciples and students of Christ, characteristic of GOD's chosen people. We need to partake in the mission of Christ, using the talents and skills that we have to contribute to the community of GOD and to contribute to the welfare of the world in whatever ways we can. We need to live with and interact with GOD in our daily, mundane lives. We need to live in a way that proclaims the kingdom of GOD, live in a way where we share in the life of Jesus, live in a way that we do the work of the Spirit. We need to understand again that we are not just remaining on earth to wait for Heaven; we are here to adopt GOD's mission and advance His kingdom to all the people of the earth!
1 comment:
That is so good anthony. We need to re:think how we see the lost also. Not as them being lower than us but just that we know something that they haven't found out yet. I am trying my best to be Jesus to others, and to push my friends and brothers and sisters in Christ to be all they can for Jesus and His kingdom.
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