December 4th, 2008
Declaration.
We are so “us-centered”
as Christians.
I’ve come to realize that
so many times we fail to see the big picture. We get so caught
up on our own lives that we fail to realize that it’s
not about us. It’s about God. God’s main purpose
is to bring glory to Himself. One of the main ways He does
this is through us. He desires to be worshipped. That is why
the main purpose of us as Christians is missions. So many
Christians think missions are for the few radical ones, that
some people are only “called” to missions. If
everyone was waiting for a “call,” there’d
be very few people out there in the world. Missions aren’t
an “occupation” that some people go into. It’s
not just for a few. It’s for everyone. Everyone’s
job in this world is missions. And yes, that might not mean
going out to a foreign country, the thing that is so commonly
associated with the term missions, but it does mean declaring
God’s glory to all nations, regardless of where you
are physically in life.
So many times we lose sight of
the fact that it is all about HIM. It’s all about His
glory. It’s all about making Him known. We live “me-centered”
lives. We pray prayers like “God help ME in this hard
time” or “God show ME where to go.” We sing
songs at church that are all about US. We focus on the sin
and what it does to US as people and how that draws US from
God. So often we leave out the part that mentions God’s
glory. Our prayers should be more like “God use me in
whatever way so that your glory is made known even more.”
We fail to see that everything God does is to bring glory
to His name.
One of my favorite books is Live
Life on Purpose. It’s all about missions and glorifying
God. I highly recommend it. To anyone. Seriously. In the book
it says, “Sin wages war against the glory of God.”
And i believe that so many times we do not see that part.
It’s not that sin hurts us. It’s not that sin
hurts others. It’s that sin hurts our purpose of glorifying
God. It’s all about Him. If people see us saying we’re
Christians, but acting totally different, that defames God’s
name. It’s so mind blowing to realize that everything
God does and has ever done is for His glory. That’s
why He set apart the nation of Israel, so that through them,
He may be glorified. That’s why He became so upset when
they worshipped idols (or even when we worship idols..)…He
was scared the other nations would be so confused as to who
the real God was. He wants people to know Him. He wants people
to glorify His name. He wants all to be drawn to Him in worship.
It’s up to us. Worship is the central part of missions.
God just wants to be glorified even more. And i just think
it’s so glorious that the God of all, who wants to be
glorified in everything, chooses us as the vehicles by which
His name is glorified. It really makes you step back and think,
“What am i doing? Am i defaming or proclaiming the name
of God?” That’s a huge thought. It’s a huge
responsibility, but if we don’t do it, if we don’t
step up, it’s never going to get done.
"Declare his glory
among the nations, his marvelous deeds among ALL peoples."
-1 Chronicles 16:24
What Are You Man?
I figured there would be no better
way to start this off than with the thing that resounds the
most to me, the thing that I strive more and more each day
to become a part of me, the thing that is the center of it
all. And that thing is not a thing but a noun. A verb. An
action. An emotion. That thing is love. And that thing is
everything.
Yesterday I was listening to
one of my all time favorite songs, “Simply Nothing”
by Shawn McDonald. It’s definitely been impacting me
a lot lately in my life. The whole song is very simple. Over
and over again it says “what are you, man, if you do
not learn love?” Wow. And hey, what exactly are we if
we do not learn love? We’re simply nothing. It’s
that easy. It’s that straight forward. Without love,
we are nothing. And that just stands out so strongly.
Love has been a theme, or better
yet, something that has constantly come up and something that
I’ve constantly been trying to perfect for a while.
I find myself talking about it a lot, striving to be a lover.
I guess you could say I love love. You see, love is the center
of everything. It is the reason for everything. It is the
most basic thing, yet the most difficult to master. It is
so simple, yet so profound. It is easy to grasp but so difficult
to comprehend. It heals. It protects. It conquers.
1 Corinthians 13 says it best
in verse 2: If Ihave a faith that can move mountains, but
have not love, Iam nothing.You can do all the service projects
in the world, but if you don’t do them in love, it’s
worthless. It is the only thing that is eternal. Everything
else may fade, but love remains strong through it all. And
love, yes love, is really what the world needs. Not money.
Or clothes. Or houses. Or food. Yes, they need that, but what
they need most of all, the thing that will heal them in ways
those necessities can’t, is love. And that’s what
we are called to be. We are called to love. We are called
to be lovers. We are called to be the remedy for this world,
like David Crowder so aptly puts it. So let us throw off everything
we have that holds us back, and love. Let us join a revolution
firmly rooted in love.
“People always
want to define you by what you do. I started saying, ‘I’m
not too concerned with what I am going to do. I am more interested
in who I am becoming. I want to be a lover of God and people.’”
-Shane Claiborne
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