What are we doing? Honestly Christian, do we have two clues what we are doing here? We seem to be of two minds, trying to have one foot in heaven while carving out a niche for ourselves in this world. No wonder we look so spastic as we stretch ourselves over questionable teaching, making the gospel dangerously thin and substituting truth with something that resembles truth but that allows us to live a little more comfortably. Well, if you have ever read the Word you will know that Jesus didn't call us to be comfortable.
What is our purpose? I prefer to take life instructions directly from Jesus:
"Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men." (Matthew 4:19)
I like the CEV wording:
“Come with me! I will teach you how to bring in people instead of fish.”
There are lots of Scriptures that confirms, clarifies and verifies Jesus' direction to us to go, be witnesses for him, to testify about him, to make disciples. This is our purpose and everything we do comes from and returns to this root. Isn't it funny how 90% of Christians have never led anyone to the Lord and evangelism seems to strike fear in the heart of every follower of Jesus.
The reason people shy away from our primary mission is because they do not realize the power that has been given to us or the power of the Scripture. The reason for this tragedy is that people have not cultivated a strong, personal, powerful relationship with Jesus. We worship (for some it is vain worship) but we leave off the first part of Jesus' instruction, "Follow me". We are busy with the doing of relationship (bible reading, prayer, worship) without entering into the purpose of it, which is relationship building.
We need to have a personal revelation of Jesus, to encounter him so that we are able to have the depth of relationship that Paul wrote about:
"I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live but Christ lives in me." (Galatians 2:20a)
This speaks of relationship; deep communion throughout our days, where we have died to ourselves and we allow Jesus to live through us. It takes spiritual maturity to come to this revelation which shifts everything in our life. We have a notion of it when we come to Jesus but it is a revelation we have to grow into in order to walk in it. Can you say you are walking in it? How about the rest of it?
"The life I live in this body I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me." (20b)
We can't grow in Jesus and we can't walk in our purpose without this truth pumping through us. This is the working out of Christ's power in you through relationship in him.
The reason we are lousy witnesses and we are terrified to testify about Jesus is because our relationship is weak and we are not standing on the truth of Jesus. We have a notion about him but we don't know him. We follow some loose fitting rules, a moral code of sorts but it is more from our churches than it is conviction in relationship. We can't say we know Jesus when we don't read his Word or fellowship through the Spirit in prayer. How can we obey him when we don't know his instructions and yet obedience is how he measures our love for him. "If you love me you will do what I have commanded."
It is possible to do good without knowing Jesus. It is possible to spread love without knowing Jesus. It is possible to have a happy life without knowing Jesus. But it is not possible to obey him without knowing him. It is not possible to be empowered for his great work without knowing him. It is not possible to do eternity work without knowing him. It is not possible to enter into his glory for ever and ever without knowing him.
As always, it is a simple matter. All we have to do is walk in the truth of it.
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