The Christian life is not about me living for Jesus; it’s about Jesus living His life in and through us. So, if we want to live the life of a Jesus follower, it’s important that we examine His life first.
We know two truths about Jesus’ life: First, He was sent, and second, He was sent to bring light. Jesus mentions that He is “sent” by God forty-two times in John’s gospel.
He came from God, and He makes it clear that His life was a mission directly from God.
“He who sees Me sees the One who sent Me. I have come as Light into the world, so that everyone who believes in Me will not remain in darkness.” (John 12:45-46)
One of my favorite definitions of light, from Merriam-Webster, is “not dark.” Without light, we can’t see. The same is true spiritually, without Jesus being sent to bring light, we would never discover God.
Since the Christian life is about allowing Jesus to live His life through us, we are also sent on a mission to bring light into the darkness.
There are over seven billion people on the planet. Through His Word, God guides us to think about where these souls are going to spend eternity, and He prepares and empowers each of us to take part in His global mission. In Romans 10:14, the Bible poses three questions about the people on earth:
“But how can they call on Him to save them unless they believe in Him? And how can they believe in Him if they have never heard about Him? And how can they hear about Him unless someone tells them?” (Romans 10:14, NLT)
You may ask, Pastor, how do we accomplish this? With all that’s going on around us, how do we live a life that intentionally reveals the light of Christ to the world around us?
Here are three things to keep in mind:
1. God does it.
First of all, God does it.
“But thanks be to God, who always leads…and manifests through us…” (2 Corinthians 2:14-17).
It’s important to remember that God didn’t bring us into a relationship with Himself for us to “do” for Him but for Him to “do” through us. Scripture reminds us that God doesn’t need any of us, but because of His grace, He chooses to use us as we join in His kingdom activity.
2. God does it as the overflow of our relationship with Him.
Through our intimate, love relationship with Him, He changes us from the inside out and when that happens, Christ is made known through our lives.
“For we are a fragrance of Christ to God among…” (2 Corinthians 2:15).
There are billions of people on this earth who don’t know Christ. While this is a cause worth focusing on, God—through His Word—asks us to focus on Him, not on them.
He promises that as I focus on Him, He reveals Himself to them through me. Therefore, mission is not ‘what’ we do as the Church; mission is ‘who’ we are as the Church. It’s why we were created.
3. God does it through our life and lips.
We authenticate the message of Jesus by the lives we live.
“God…manifests through us the…knowledge of Him in every place like a sweet perfume” (2 Corinthians 2:14-15).
Many say people are not open to the gospel. I firmly believe they’re open, but they’re waiting to see if what we have is real. As He lives His life in and through us, our obedience opens doors to share the life-changing message of the gospel with others. And there is no more important mission than that!
As the Church, we are the plan. And God doesn’t have a plan B. His plan is for Christ in us to be made evident through us to those around us—everywhere we live, work and play.