“Pray also
for me, that whenever I speak, words may be given me so that I will fearlessly
make known the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains. Pray
that I may declare it fearlessly, as I should.”
Ephesians 6:19-20(NIV)
Two years ago, God revealed a
rather painful truth about the condition of my heart… about my love for Him. Up until that point, one thing was undeniably
certain: I did church REALLY well. I served on committees; sang on the worship
team; taught preschool; attended small groups.
I never suffered from a reluctance to serve Jesus… but the same could not
be said about my willingness to share Him with others. And, through His
infinite supply of humor and grace, God revealed this morsel of truth to me through
an unassuming Groupon.
For those of you unfamiliar with
the Groupon phenomenon, it’s a “deal-of the day” coupon that local businesses
use to expand their customer base. On
this particular day, the Groupon was for a local day-spa. As soon as I saw the advertisement, I
immediately called my neighbor, knowing she would be interested in snatching up
the deal. But somewhere between the time she said, “Hello,” and my ability to
explain the details of this great deal, it hit me like a brick: I was more willing to share the
news of a Groupon than I was to share The Gospel. For all the years we’d known
each other, I never actually presented her with The Gospel. She knew my faith was important to me; she
saw me live it out with my family. I had
even invited her to church. But, I never once told her about Jesus… that He is
the only way to the Father… that He wants a better life for her. Immediately I began to think about all of the possible reasons why: a fear of rejection; an inability to defend my faith; or, the
possibility that my faith was merely a reflection of my heritage and not my
true belief in Jesus.
In the weeks that followed,
God continued to reveal things in my life that were placed above Jesus;
obstacles that severely limited my ability to be an effective disciple for His
Kingdom. These realizations marked the beginning
of a journey that helped me find a love for the Savior that has consumed my
heart, and consequently, my life. (Something I never
thought was possible… because the concept of falling in love with Jesus seemed so
abstract, and quite frankly, weird.) Yet,
I’ve come to realize that loving Jesus is anything but weird… and that having a
relationship with Him isn’t theoretical symbolism. But, it requires more than
attending church and reading your Bible. It requires placing Jesus above all
else… and, sometimes, that’s easier said than done. Sometimes we’re not even aware of the idols
in our lives, of the sin that drives a wedge between us and the Father. Other times, we’re very much aware of its existence, we’re just not willing to
let it go.
Challenge
Spend some time thinking
about the things in your life that take precedence over Jesus. Does your time (how you spend your time)
reflect your love for the Savior… or does it more accurately reflect a greater love
for something else? Ask God to reveal a stronghold
that might exist (i.e., a fear, an idol, an insecurity)…an obstacle that
prevents you from introducing Jesus to your friends and family. If you’re doing this challenge as a family,
spend time discussing this question together and then praying for God to reveal
those things you placed before Jesus.
No comments:
Post a Comment