Our Mission pt.2

In part 1 of Our Mission, I shared some thoughts about prayer. Yet it just occurred to me that I never really made it clear what our mission is. Sharing the good news of the Lord Jesus Christ! I think maybe I just naturally assumed every Christian understood what our mission to be. I think maybe that statement is more revealing than I intended it to be, in that while it may appear obvious to some, it may not be so obvious to others. Which is why we need good, solid teachers, to point these things out. I would like to remind my readers that this is the study that was delivered via inSpeak.com last night, by good friend, and great brother in Christ pastor John Lane.

Part 2 of Our Mission is living it. Pastor John shared with use these verses:

Matthew 5:16
Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.

Philippians 2:14-15
Do all things without murmurings and disputings: That ye may be blameless and harmless, the sons of God, without rebuke, in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation, among whom ye shine as lights in the world

Christian living. Christian conduct... I confess I fall SO short it's embarassing. Someone sent me a very kind email today and in part it said "thanks for letting us peak into your world and "see" what it looks like to be a Godly woman, a loving wife, and a dedicated mother". I read that part and almost cried - thinking - "doesn't this person know what an idiot I am, how I mess up all the time, how I say things I shouldn't say, how I struggle with this weakness or that?!?". Well, I don't know if this person realizes this or not - but I suspect they have an idea of what that's like, since they are a member of the household of faith as well.

Let's look at the list of expected conduct from these verses:

• Let your light shine
• good works
• no murmmering or disputing
• being blameless and harmless
• without rebuke

Shinging Light

Some years ago, I used to chat (online) with a lady named Carole. Carole had a rough life - her husband (who had left her) was highly abusive, and an unbeliever. She had a weight problem, that caused her numerous other health problems, and a young son whom she planned to homeschool when the time came. An idea that she had zero support for, from friends and family. Carole almost never complained, about anything - but instead used to sign off quite frequently with "AOG!" No, it doesn't mean Assemblies of God, it means attitude of gratitude. That was Carole's philosophy about life, and all that that means - good, bad, happy, scary, pain, joy, etc. She was convinced if she remained staunch in her attitude of gratitude to God, she would always find something, even the smallest thing, to thank God for in any situation, and that would keep her focus on praising Him, continually. Once in a while, Carole would privately share with me something she was struggling with, but most of the time before I had a chance to give her an encouraging word, she'd reply with something like "but you know what, even in all this, the Lord is still so good to me". She was consistant in letting the light of Christ in her, shine forth. She was a great blessing and encouragement to me, and a great example of letting your light shine before men.

I'm not like Carole. I jokingly call myself the eternal optimist, only because I often look for the silver lining in a dark cloud. The lesson in a trial, the blessings in hard times, etc. I said often, I didn't say every time. I can whine and snivel around with the best of them. Thankfully it doesn't last too long before I'm convicted of it. When we're giving into the flesh about a situation, and grumbling about it, we're not letting our light shine, we're letting our flesh take over - and God is never glorified in that.

Good Works

This is an incredibly diverse topic. I want to focus on the good works that come as a result of staying focused on the goodness of God - that allows us to let His light in us, shine forth. How does this work? I'd like to give a very exagerrated example.

The electric bill arrives. It's being delivered by a courier, in a large box. You open the box and look at the amount due (which was due last week). It's more than your net income for the last 6 years. You smile, and look at the courier and say "thank you young man, have a great day!".

Now most folks simply would not react this way. They'd snap, lose it, faint, yell, freak, whatever. Would this glorify the Lord? Would it be an example of the goodness of Christ working in our lives? Would anyone around us see the light of Christ in us, in that reaction?

NOPE

So now let's move to a more realistic example. Job loss, health problems, family issues. Any one of these could create an avalanche of additional barriers and struggles - and most of us have gone through one or more of them, some even at the same time. How do we react? That's the ultimate question. I know my answer, and it's not always the right answer. I am humbled however to report that more often now, than 10 years ago, I am able to react to such things with the same kind of 'aog' that Carole used to show forth - and have seen the result of that 'aog' in the attitude of the people around me. This is a huge blessing. When our good works are seen by others, God is glorified in that.

Murmurings and Disputings

This is an interesting word, murmuring. The Greek word is goggusmos, and the way it's pronounced sounds alot like what it is, a mumbling, sort of under your breath, an expression of displeasure. How many of us ever do this? I know I do. The word 'great' turns into a sarcastic, whispered expression that doesn't mean great at all, it means "this is awful, horrible and I hate it, and I'm making sure I say it in a rotten way to make this known". I have been incredibly convicted of this lately. My initial reaction to bad news - is quite often a bad reaction that nails the definition of this word, dead on. My Bible says, DON'T do this, and lists the reason why. I'll get to the reason after I tackle disputings.

This word means exactly what you think it means: hesitations, doubts, arguing, disputing. Now I do believe there is a time to question things - but the way we question things is just as important as knowing when to question.

I'll try to give a practical example that makes sense (I've been trying to teach this to my kids for the last 50 years, and I've only been a parent for 22 years).

If a Christian man is working for a non-Christian employer, and the employer directs the man to do something contrary to Christian conduct, such as lie on an office form, then there is an appropriate situation for the man to hesitate, so that he may question the direct order. If the man chooses his words carefully in this, he may even convince the employer why it would be a bad idea to carry out this order. He may not, and he may be reprimanded, or even fired, but it would be an acceptable form of disputing, if the man was expected to sin, if he went along with it.

If a parent asks the child to take the trash out, and the child responds with "I hate taking the trash out, I always have to take it out, can't someone else take it out this time" this child has just pegged the Biblical definition of disputing, as it's used in this verse. It used to be called backtalk, or sassing - it's all sin, no matter what it's called. It's arguing against a chore you've been given to do, simply because you don't want to do it. While parents reading this might easily recognize this attitude in kids, it's certainly not an attitude exclusive to kids. Us grown ups have it too - it's all part of still living in this fallen flesh, and something we have to constantly be mindful of, and guard against. The verse above says not to do this, and says why.

Blameless, Harmless, without Rebuke

If we avoid those 2 very common reactions - we are blameless, harmless (innocent of this conduct) and do not require rebuke for it. This is the place we want to be - this is the place I want to be. I do not want to be known for my mumbling displeasure under my breath, or arguing against something simply because I don't 'feel' like doing it. If we are known for these things, if people suspect that might be our reaction at any given time, is God being glorified? NOPE, He sure isn't.

This passage goes on to say that if we DON'T react this way, we will stand out as the sons of God, in a crooked and perverse nation. That we will shine as lights in this world.

This is where I want to be - shining as a light in this world, for the glory of God.

This is living our mission. It's not easy to do, and it doesn't happen light flipping on a switch. It requires due diligence in prayer, and seeking God's grace and wisdom in all situations - staying focused on Him, and His holy standard for us, at all times, in all circumstances.

I hesitate to add this last part, because I don't want it to be misunderstood. I have decided to add it anyway, because I believe it to be quite timely, and of the utmost importance.

Being Missional?

In our day and age, there are many professing believers that use this phrase. They speak of being authentic on their spiritual journey. I believe in being authentic, since the alternative is being deceptive. I agree that every Christian is on a spiritual journey, and our destinaton is far more glorious than we might dare to imagine.

When John presented this study last night and spoke about living our mission, I'm quite certain his definition of that, was not the same definition many give to "being missional". In many cases, men and women who use that phrase, also use the term "authentic" which means in some cases, cussing and swearing, holding to all sorts of liberal (or heretical as defined in Scripture) theological positions, immersing themselves in the things of the world (art, politics, environmental issues, literature, movies, music, etc.), under the guise of 'engaging the community for the kingdom of God'. In many cases as well, this spiritual journey includes the customs and practices of ungodly, pagan religions.

I believe it to be absolutely critical, that we resort to the written word on what defines living our mission, instead of relying on modern evangelical movements, and what they might have to offer. The Bible, being God's very word, shows us His high and holy standard, for our speech, conduct, worship, and relationships with believers and unbelievers.

When we mix our idea of living our mission, with the customs, language, and practices of the world, we're not letting the light of Christ shine through to the lost. The Bible is the only place we're going to find the standard to which we ought to be striving for daily.

I would encourage those caught up in this type of missional living, to diligently search the Scriptures and take this matter to earnest prayer.

This concludes part 2 of this study. I will make every effort to address part 3, tomorrow. Lord willing.

I hope this blesses someone today.

SOLI DEO GLORIA,
Carla