THE GREATEST COMMANDMENT
Greetings in the name of Jesus:
For a great many years we have heard about the Great commandment of " Go ye into the world and preach the Gospel unto every living creature" and yet even in Jesus own words the greatest commandment has always been to "love God with our whole heart, mind and strength and to love one another as we love ourselves".
One of the things I see that is so different about these two commandments; much like a lot of the things we do in Christ is that one is a bi-product of the other. Mostly what we do in the name of Christ should simply be a bi-product of the love that we have for God. Many church leaders would have us all be very intentional about going into the whole world and preaching the Gospel as though once we sign up for Christianity it becomes a part of the job description. That puts us back in charge of what we intend to do for God instead of allowing God to rule, change and use us how ever He wants to. It is a very small mindset change to be sure, but one which changes the kind of approach the church has had about the ways it preaches the Gospel over several generations of time.
If we stop simply to think about these changes we can see that the entire driven need to "Go into the world" has us trying to send missions around the world, yet loosing all interest in the community where the church is located. The real mission field was first of all intended to be the community in which the church was placed before going into the rest of the world. In Matthew 22:34-40 we find the religious leaders of His time asking what He felt the greatest commandment was, and He said it was to love God with all our heart, mind and soul. This tells me that until we can be sure of that very first commandment in our lives we should not be trying to go anywhere else or do anything in the name of God because we ourselves are not prepared for it...our hearts are not right for it and the world will defeat us before we get out of the gates.
Jesus said " Oh ye of little faith" which describes a great many people in the church today who have not really ever committed their personal lives to Christ, yet want to do a good work for Christ to be seen of men. Do you think I am being too harsh on people when I say that any ministry that we do should be one that flows from us because we can no longer contain it? Our very testimony and witness in Jesus is not what we can produce in programs or moving documentation, but in real life accounts of what Jesus has done in our very own lives. If I am going into the world at all it must first be felt from the life that I live within my own community first. It is my own life that must first be changed for anything to happen in my community because that makes me a real person with a real testimony, and not just another member of something that I may or may not believe in.
My personal testimony is not a survey call to see how others feel about my beliefs but rather an open sharing of how my personal life has changed in Jesus. It really isn't that hard to tell when someone loves God with their whole heart because that person is real with what they say. They are real because they have life in them of the Kingdom of Heaven and they have power through the Holy Spirit as He speaks through them to the world around them. I do not believe that we should attempt to make up a story that compels people to be drawn to Christ, but rather allow the Holy Spirit to speak the truth through them to the world around them. As we start to look at the realness of Christ in our lives lets not forget that before we can ever be ready to " Go into all the world" we must first allow" God to take over our world". May you richly bless God through your life in Him.
THE UNWORTHY SERVANT
For a great many years we have heard about the Great commandment of " Go ye into the world and preach the Gospel unto every living creature" and yet even in Jesus own words the greatest commandment has always been to "love God with our whole heart, mind and strength and to love one another as we love ourselves".
One of the things I see that is so different about these two commandments; much like a lot of the things we do in Christ is that one is a bi-product of the other. Mostly what we do in the name of Christ should simply be a bi-product of the love that we have for God. Many church leaders would have us all be very intentional about going into the whole world and preaching the Gospel as though once we sign up for Christianity it becomes a part of the job description. That puts us back in charge of what we intend to do for God instead of allowing God to rule, change and use us how ever He wants to. It is a very small mindset change to be sure, but one which changes the kind of approach the church has had about the ways it preaches the Gospel over several generations of time.
If we stop simply to think about these changes we can see that the entire driven need to "Go into the world" has us trying to send missions around the world, yet loosing all interest in the community where the church is located. The real mission field was first of all intended to be the community in which the church was placed before going into the rest of the world. In Matthew 22:34-40 we find the religious leaders of His time asking what He felt the greatest commandment was, and He said it was to love God with all our heart, mind and soul. This tells me that until we can be sure of that very first commandment in our lives we should not be trying to go anywhere else or do anything in the name of God because we ourselves are not prepared for it...our hearts are not right for it and the world will defeat us before we get out of the gates.
Jesus said " Oh ye of little faith" which describes a great many people in the church today who have not really ever committed their personal lives to Christ, yet want to do a good work for Christ to be seen of men. Do you think I am being too harsh on people when I say that any ministry that we do should be one that flows from us because we can no longer contain it? Our very testimony and witness in Jesus is not what we can produce in programs or moving documentation, but in real life accounts of what Jesus has done in our very own lives. If I am going into the world at all it must first be felt from the life that I live within my own community first. It is my own life that must first be changed for anything to happen in my community because that makes me a real person with a real testimony, and not just another member of something that I may or may not believe in.
My personal testimony is not a survey call to see how others feel about my beliefs but rather an open sharing of how my personal life has changed in Jesus. It really isn't that hard to tell when someone loves God with their whole heart because that person is real with what they say. They are real because they have life in them of the Kingdom of Heaven and they have power through the Holy Spirit as He speaks through them to the world around them. I do not believe that we should attempt to make up a story that compels people to be drawn to Christ, but rather allow the Holy Spirit to speak the truth through them to the world around them. As we start to look at the realness of Christ in our lives lets not forget that before we can ever be ready to " Go into all the world" we must first allow" God to take over our world". May you richly bless God through your life in Him.
THE UNWORTHY SERVANT
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