Vision
A couple of months ago I was driving home on the 101 back from a lesson and was thinking about what a friend had told me regarding spelling out my vision for Genesis, especially to those who were involved in leadership roles so they could have clarity, both in where we are headed as well as our vision to get there. As I was parked (I mean driving) there on the fwy, a sentence came to mind which surprised me. It surprised me because the words didn’t seem to be anywhere in my head a moment earlier, but they seemed to sum up rather simply a lot of what I was wrestling with. Anyway, the sentence was this…
“Embolden one another to begin changing the world, by effectively representing Jesus Christ”
Embolden? I really don’t remember ever using that word. In fact, I had to look it up to be certain of its meaning, which is to instill with boldness. And the more I’ve thought about it, the more I like it. Throughout scripture there are examples of those who had to be “instilled with boldness.” Joshua was told 3 times in as many verses to be strong and courageous as well as not to be terrified. Jeremiah & Isaiah similarly were told not to be afraid and both Timothy and Esther were encouraged by others not to miss the opportunity that was before them. I think it’s easy for us to see that we all need to be instilled with boldness. The writer of Hebrews even tells us to think of ways to motivate one another to acts of love and good works, but to begin changing the world? I admit that sounds a little like motivational speaker hype, yet I believe it’s what we are called to do and what will naturally take place if we fulfill Jesus’ commission to go and make disciples of all nations. I also think it’s worth thinking about those who have impacted the world for evil and how they were anything but passive in their intentions or ambitions. Whether it’s Bin Laden, Stalin or Hitler, they have purposefully and horrifically impacted the lives of millions! Which makes me wonder, what would happen if we purposefully and ambitiously moved to change the world for the good?
We are currently going through the book of Luke on Fridays and I’ve been looking at the phrase “the Kingdom of God” which Jesus has been repeating. Jesus speaks of the Kingdom of God as a work already in progress as well as something yet to come, but one of the things I’ve noticed is that He never tells or invites us to build or advance the Kingdom of God… never. He does, however, invite us to be a part of it. It may seem like a small thing, but when it comes to doing good things to change the world, motive is a huge thing and if we are honest, many times what we really want is God to help us build our kingdom (after all, it’s to do good) or at least give us a small province in His, but that really is so contrary to what the Kingdom of God is about. It’s about Him and His work in the lives of those who will allow it to grow in their hearts. We and this world are so “self” driven, but the Kingdom of God, like Christ Himself, is “others” driven and I think that is at the heart of “effectively representing Jesus Christ”. It’s thinking of others more than ourselves (Phil. 2), forgiving even as God in Christ has forgiven us (Eph. 4), and laying down our lives for one another as Jesus has for us (1Jn. 3). That is how we represent Him and how I believe we can change the world.
Remember, in this world we are like him (1 John 4:17).
So then …
“Embolden one another to begin changing the world, by effectively representing Jesus Christ”
What do you say? Are you in?
