Is He Welcome Here?

Normally, I blog on Tuesdays, but this week, I decided to throw in an extra one. When the Lord begins to hit me with something, my natural reaction is to preach about it and write about it. Last night, after giving a devotion to our Sunday night group at church, I continue to think about the subject matter. Is He welcome here? We say that we want to know Christ and that we want to be consumed by Christ, but the choices we make in our lives reveals the truth. That goes for me, too.

Two situations. Two groups of people. Two different reactions. We read a story of a man set free from the bondage of demons. In the region of the Gerasenes, he lived amongst the tombs, ran around without clothes on, cut himself, and could not be restrained. Jesus set the man free, driving the demons out of the man and into the pigs. The reaction of the people was unique. In Mark 5, we read, "Then they began to beg Him to leave their region." (Mark 5:17 HCSB) Go away. Please leave here. A miracle had happened in their midst as the man who lived amongst the tombs had been set free and given a new life, but their reaction was "Go away." Now the man who had been set free by Jesus wanted to continue on with Jesus, but the rest of the people wanted Him to leave.

A second group heard about Jesus from the woman at the well. As she spoke to Jesus, He revealed His identity to her. At first, she perceived Him as a prophet and admitted that she knew a Messiah was coming. Jesus said to her, "I am He, the One speaking to you." (John 4:26 HCSB) She ran and told everyone, who came to see for themselves. The reaction of the Samaritans is priceless. "Therefore, when the Samaritans came to Him, they asked Him to stay with them, and He stayed there two days." (John 4:42 HCSB) They begged Him to stay. They wanted to know more and longed to hear more. The desire of their hearts were to remain in the moment for as long as they could.

The reason they wanted Him to stay was clear. As we read a few verses later, "And they told the woman, 'We no longer believe because of what you said, for we have heard for ourselves and know that this really is the Savior of the world." (John 4:42 HCSB) Can't you imagine how they were when Jesus was in their midst. They didn't care about food, sleep, the normal aggravations of life, or even the weather, for the Author of life was giving them insight on the meaning of life, unlocking the door to eternal life...and they wanted more!

As we look around, we see where the Lord has done amazing things. We have witnessed the Lord's hand at work in our lives and in our nation from the beginning. We have seen how, as a nation, our country has reacted like those in the region of the Gerasenes, telling the Lord to go away, to get out of the public square, to get out of our schools, to leave the scene and only appear when we need Him. What about our homes and our lives? Have we done the same?

When we see Jesus as the Savior of the world, we become like the Samaritans, wanting more, longing for just five more minutes. Everything is set aside because nothing else matters than having a place that is welcoming to Jesus. Rather than spending our time and effort on what doesn't matter, we spend our time coming to know the One who will always matter. Instead of focusing on what is here today and gone tomorrow, we fix our eyes on Jesus, the One who walks with us today and holds our tomorrow. We give up the world and we live a life of worship. So, it comes down to the question, "Is He welcome here?" Our lives answer that very question.

A Global Mission

An orphan in Uganda wonders if anyone cares about her. A rice farmer in India questions the meaning of life and if there is more to this existence than simply working in a field day after day. In the mountainous region of the Alps, a woman wonders how the mountains came to be, a question she had not pondered before today. And in the United States, a teenager posts another picture with a smile on their face, trying to portray that their life is filled with joy but hiding an emptiness inside because their is a void they cannot explain. A global mission field stands waiting, but do we see our role in mission?

Our church hosted a Serious Writer Christian writer's conference last week, the North Carolina Christian Writers Conference. Looking at the desire of the conferees and the faculty, one thing was clear - the goal was to change the world. Each author had a gift they wanted to use to speak light into the growing darkness, to give hope to the hopeless, to share the good news with those living in despair. As I watched the conference unfold, I began to think about our role in the global mission.

"Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe everything I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age." (Matthew 28:29-10 HCSB)

Go. One word. A command. As Jesus knew the Ascension was drawing near, He told them to go. Rather than rest in the comfort of what they had known, what they had experienced, He called them into the uncomfortable, the dangerous, that which could prove costly. Their leader did not give them an option; He gave a command. The places where the gospel would take them would be challenging and rejection was probable. But, He said go. Work was to be done for the kingdom of God and they had a role.

Such is a truth for all of us today. We have a role in the global mission of spreading the gospel. Such a role is to be in the forefront of our minds every minute of the day. We use our talents, gift, abilities, and resources so that the gospel can reach those who need hope, who need salvation, who need Christ to fill the void in their lives. But we sit still. We stay in our comfortable norms, believing the Great Commission to be the Great Suggestion. All the while, Christ is telling us to go.

All Nations. Every nation, every language. From those in the wealthiest of places to the most impoverished inner cities and villages of the world, the gospel is to be proclaimed. Knowing that we cannot physically visit every nation ourselves, how do we reach them as we are called to do? We find our place in the global mission. For writers, we write so that we reach others where they are. For every Christian, we partner with those on the ground in these regions. Operation Christmas Child offers the local church an opportunity to leave a global footprint for the kingdom. Prayer has the power to cross the deepest oceans and reach those in the highest elevations. Looking beyond what we see and experience every day to see how God can impact those who experiences are far different gives us the vision to be involved in the global mission.

Teaching Them. Helping them to have a relationship with Christ is the goal. Equipping them to stand against the tactics of the enemy and experience the peace that surpasses all comprehension is the goal. Rather than just pushing them to make a decision for Christ, the global mission is to take it a step further and make disciples. How do we do that? We begin making disciples at home and we teach them to be disciple-makers in their lives. Again, we partner with others to make Jesus known throughout the world and we do so for the cause of Christ, for the glory of God.

Jesus is with us always. Just the words "global mission" sound overwhelming. That is a great number of people and an immense amount of territory to cover, but this mission is not based on our strength or the perceived limits of our abilities. Christ is with us. His strength is more than enough for us. His abilities are even greater than we can imagine. That little thing that we do for the Lord for the global mission can be multiplied far beyond our greatest imagination when it is placed into the hands of the Lord. Remember, He was able to feed thousands with a few loaves of bread a couple of fish.

I watched those writers seek to make a difference. Offering up what God had given them for His glory to tell His story made me think about what all of us are doing to reach those who need to be reached the most. What's your place in the global mission of the church and what are you doing to proclaim Christ throughout the world? Have faith. Put it in the hands of the Lord and watch Him do what you never dreamed possible.