Missional Living
Jesus said in John 20:21 “…as the Father has sent me, so send I you”. My heart longs for the truth of this simple statement to revolutionize the lives of Christians living within the United States. Christians in today’s church have neutralized their effectiveness for the kingdom by immersing themselves in the pursuit of the “good life”. We have thoroughly digested the fruit of a seductive tree. The promise of contentment is held out to those who will make the pursuit of worldly pleasures their goal, and Christians, who are “citizens of a heavenly city” have been deceived. C.S. Lewis said that “we are far too easily pleased’ and this is the sad state of the church today.
The Bible says that life is like a vapor, that is only here for a little while. It is like the steam on the top of a cup of coffee that is gone in a moment. How is it then that we spend so much time to find a little bit of pleasure that is of no heavenly significance at all? The call to the church is to return again to the pursuit of God’s pleasures which bring sweet satisfaction to those who pursue it. God’s greatest pleasure is the exaltation of His own name which happens each time the gospel is proclaimed to one who is separated from Christ.
Very few churches are reaching unbelievers and unchurched with the gospel, yet this is the mission of every church and every Christian. Christians are to contextualize the gospel in order to reach people in their community. This means removing cultural distractions often associated with religion and building cultural bridges between the church and people. We generally tend to write off people that we have little in common with. This certainly was not the practice of the apostle Paul who seemed to always be able to find someway to make the gospel understandeable to everyone he came in contact with, no matter what their background or ethnicity. If we understand ourselves as missionaries who are sent out into the culture, then we will do what is necessary to build these bridges which make authentic relationships with a redemptive purpose possible. Missionaries do what it takes to reach people. In 1 Corinthians 9:19-23, Paul explains the great missionary strategy of contextualization as something that all Christians should do to reach people in the culture. For far too long we have feared being stained by the world so much that we lost the “salt and light” effect that we were intended to embody. I remember as a young preacher fearing to park at a convenience store for fear that someone would think that I was at the bar next door. Jesus was willing to be scandalized in order to reach the scandalous. He often developed relationships with people that the religious leaders of his day wouldn’t be caught dead with. While the these leaders should have been showing people how they could have a relationship with God, they were pointing fingers of judgment instead. They called Jesus a drunkard because he was often in places where drunkenness was likely to happen. They called Him a glutton because instead of fasting like the religious hypocrites he was eating and drinking with sinners. In fact, they called Him a friend of sinners which was intended as an insult but that title is a reminder of the salvation he offers to all who trust in Him through faith.
In response to this missional mandate, here at The Journey we talk about knowing the story of Jesus because it compels us into action. The story of God becoming man in the form of Jesus Christ so that He could be everything we can not and die to accept the punishment that we deserved, compels us. It compels us first to live the story, because it has eternal implications for every person. The Gospel changes people. We live the story by willingly receiving the transforming work of Christ. The result of this is that our family, friends, co-workers etc. get to see a glimpse of Christ through us by witnessing the change that occurs because of our faith. And so, we build relatiosnhips with people so that as we live the story, we are invited to tell the story. In authentic relationships, we build the credibility to speak truth into the lives of people that we know. It is very difficult to start conversations with relative strangers and expect them to give us an honest hearing unless we know that they already respect the Bible as a legitimate authority for their life. For most people, we must take real time and exhibit genuine concern before we are allowed to Tell the Story. The Story is the transformational principle. It is the one and only thing that never changes in a world that is constantly in flux.
