Focus on the Mission

The world recently witnessed the wholesale slaughter of babies and unarmed families and concert attendees. This action taken in the Middle East has brought the world community closer to the brink of another world war. There is nothing political about this. It IS, however, about the reality of the evil that is so pervasive in this world.

As reports pour in minute-by-minute about this situation, we might be tempted to throw our hands up in desperation or in total exasperation. What hope is there for this world?

We cannot pretend that we are not in some way affected by what has happened. We may live on the other side of the globe, thousands of miles removed from the epicenter of this tragedy, but we are experiencing its shockwaves. We are witnessing social upheaval en masse around the world with one group squaring off with another, one group in support of Israel, the other in support of the Palestinians.

How are we as Christians, as followers and disciples of Jesus, supposed to respond? Oh, yes, we could get “political” and then, even within the Body of Christ, pick a side and then argue with each other over who is “right” and who is “wrong”…

BUT THAT IS NOT WHAT THIS IS ABOUT!!!

If we have submitted our life to the Lordship of Jesus Christ, then it is high time for us to listen to Him and be willing to set aside our own opinions and obey His Word!

Jesus, speaking to a Pharisee named Nicodemus, laid out His entire purpose for coming. It is probably the most well-known verse: “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.” (John 3:16)

Look at it closely. It doesn’t say, “For God so loved the Americans…”. It doesn’t say, “For God so loved the Israelis…” It doesn’t say, “For God so loved a specific group of people.” It says that God so loved THE WORLD.

The world. The cosmos. His creation. We, all of us that inhabit and draw our breath upon this globe, are God’s creation. God so loved ALL of us that He sent His Son to make atonement for our sin and make it possible for us to have a relationship with God our Creator. But that only happens if we read and heed the middle part of that verse, “whoever believes in him.”

This world, as we now witness daily, is filled with evil. We should not, however, despair and focus on the evil. Jesus told His disciples in John 16:33 that “in this world you will have tribulation. But take heart: I have overcome the world.”

THAT is our hope and we can go boldly into this world armed with that promise!

Our mission as a Christian, as a servant and ambassador for Jesus, is to help introduce Him to a world that so desperately needs Him. Our mission is no different than the one given to the apostle Paul in Acts 26:17-18, “I am sending you, to open their eyes so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the dominion of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and an inheritance among those who have been sanctified by faith in Me.”

Let us stay focused on God and His love for those around us. In the midst of the pain and anxiety that this world offers, let us allow the love of God, through us, to overshadow and overwhelm it.