We're in a battle brothers and sisters and we need to fight the good fight.
The battle is not for our salvation. If you have a personal relationship with Christ you've already been given salvation. And the battle isn't for the completed work of our sanctification. Jesus has promised to complete the work He began in us. We don't do it - we're branches and He is the vine. Apart from Jesus we can do nothing.
So then, if Jesus does it all - saving us and sanctifying us - what is the battle about? What are we fighting for?
The battle is letting Christ mature us (surrender) sooner rather than later, for the sake of the Kingdom. It's a spiritual battle to allow Christ to reign in us; to submit to who Christ is uniquely in each us for such a time as this. Jesus already won the War, but He desires to passionately love others through us now. His motivation and urgency is love.
So then, if Jesus does it all - saving us and sanctifying us - what is the battle about? What are we fighting for?
The battle is letting Christ mature us (surrender) sooner rather than later, for the sake of the Kingdom. It's a spiritual battle to allow Christ to reign in us; to submit to who Christ is uniquely in each us for such a time as this. Jesus already won the War, but He desires to passionately love others through us now. His motivation and urgency is love.
The Mission
Soldiers in the middle of a high-intensity battle don't spend their time and energy focusing on themselves, for if they do, their mission is compromised and a fellow soldier may be wounded or killed. They are trained to focus on the mission. Satan's objective is to keep our hearts and eyes on ourselves and worldly desires to compromise The Mission.
So, what is The Mission? The Mission is to love one another. We're called to love one another and those who don't know Jesus with Christ-like love (selfless, graceful, merciful, humble) and to spur one another on toward love and good deeds. Each of us in the body of Christ have been given gifts and talents and many of you are clear about an assignment God has given you as well - much like each soldier in the armed forces has a specific assignment. But, our Mission is to love God and love one another. Assignments are secondary. We can be frustrated and allow anxiety into our lives by focusing on assignments while not being clear and mature about The Mission. Keep your eyes and hearts on The Mission.
The Church isn't fighting well as a unit. We too often focus on our assignments at the expense of The Mission. We're not fighting for one another to the best of our ability. We often leave our wounded comrades behind while we take care of our assignments. Sometimes we don't even notice our hurting comrades, or we're afraid to enter in to their pain or messy circumstances. There are times we even rub our spiritual salt into their wounds. Often, we spend energy guarding our assignments so we can make sure we get our due credit. This is not the way to fight the good fight. If we're struggling to love our spiritual brothers and sisters in an attitude of humility and selflessness, then how do we love those outside the Faith? Our Mission is to love one another and those who don't know Jesus with passion, grace and mercy SO THAT the world can see and experience Christ-like love.
A bumper sticker says "Christians aren't perfect, just forgiven". True enough; but we could have much more impact for the Kingdom of God (The Mission) if, in humility, we demonstrated Jesus rather than parading our Christian slogans. They will know we are Christians by our love. God's power is made perfect (manifested) in our weakness. The more surrendered we are to each other and to God, the more The Mission is accomplished.
This doesn't work unless our desires and passions are for The Mission. If our energy, time, and resources are more focused on what we can get from one another (marriage, employment, Christian service, etc.), or from the world (cars, houses, blessings, etc.) we end up being distracted from The Mission and that is what Satan is up to. Keeping our eyes on The Mission helps us love each other with encouragement in the midst of the battle. Sports teams that suffer from individualism implode on themselves and rarely reach the pinnacle of their sport, even with great talent. Many a team have reached the greatest heights with few superstars simply by deferring to one another and playing as a team. As we honestly surrender our lives to Jesus our hearts are changed and our desires are changed toward love and the Kingdom and less about ourselves.
If you're not experiencing that deep and passionate desire for the Kingdom, and you want it, be honest about it with yourself and with God. Then, ask God to give you His desires. Be persistent. He wants to know that you really want Him and his desires. Wait and be ready to receive. You'll begin to experience the abundant life Jesus promised - a life filled with Him and loving in Him.
So, what is The Mission? The Mission is to love one another. We're called to love one another and those who don't know Jesus with Christ-like love (selfless, graceful, merciful, humble) and to spur one another on toward love and good deeds. Each of us in the body of Christ have been given gifts and talents and many of you are clear about an assignment God has given you as well - much like each soldier in the armed forces has a specific assignment. But, our Mission is to love God and love one another. Assignments are secondary. We can be frustrated and allow anxiety into our lives by focusing on assignments while not being clear and mature about The Mission. Keep your eyes and hearts on The Mission.
The Church isn't fighting well as a unit. We too often focus on our assignments at the expense of The Mission. We're not fighting for one another to the best of our ability. We often leave our wounded comrades behind while we take care of our assignments. Sometimes we don't even notice our hurting comrades, or we're afraid to enter in to their pain or messy circumstances. There are times we even rub our spiritual salt into their wounds. Often, we spend energy guarding our assignments so we can make sure we get our due credit. This is not the way to fight the good fight. If we're struggling to love our spiritual brothers and sisters in an attitude of humility and selflessness, then how do we love those outside the Faith? Our Mission is to love one another and those who don't know Jesus with passion, grace and mercy SO THAT the world can see and experience Christ-like love.
A bumper sticker says "Christians aren't perfect, just forgiven". True enough; but we could have much more impact for the Kingdom of God (The Mission) if, in humility, we demonstrated Jesus rather than parading our Christian slogans. They will know we are Christians by our love. God's power is made perfect (manifested) in our weakness. The more surrendered we are to each other and to God, the more The Mission is accomplished.
This doesn't work unless our desires and passions are for The Mission. If our energy, time, and resources are more focused on what we can get from one another (marriage, employment, Christian service, etc.), or from the world (cars, houses, blessings, etc.) we end up being distracted from The Mission and that is what Satan is up to. Keeping our eyes on The Mission helps us love each other with encouragement in the midst of the battle. Sports teams that suffer from individualism implode on themselves and rarely reach the pinnacle of their sport, even with great talent. Many a team have reached the greatest heights with few superstars simply by deferring to one another and playing as a team. As we honestly surrender our lives to Jesus our hearts are changed and our desires are changed toward love and the Kingdom and less about ourselves.
If you're not experiencing that deep and passionate desire for the Kingdom, and you want it, be honest about it with yourself and with God. Then, ask God to give you His desires. Be persistent. He wants to know that you really want Him and his desires. Wait and be ready to receive. You'll begin to experience the abundant life Jesus promised - a life filled with Him and loving in Him.
Remain blessed
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