A Consuming Cause
In his book, “The Purpose Driven Life”, Rick Warren writes 336 pages of material that helps the reader understand God’s purpose for her or his life. But the most important statement in the entire book is contained in the first four words of the manuscript: “It’s not about you.”
Oh—that every Christian would really grasp that truth! When we find ourselves losing our grip on what we know as our style of Christianity, remember…it’s not about you. When you feel like you’re not getting what you want or need from the church, remember…it’s not about you. When you feel like you’re being overlooked or slighted, remember…it’s not about you.
It’s not “sort of” not about you. It absolutely is NOT about you. The vast majority of church-goers today need a much greater vision of ministry than what they currently embrace. Theoretically, many evangelical Christians would say that they’re all about fulfilling the great commission. Theoretically.
In practice, we often show a much different side to what we’re all about. We want our own version of faith and practice more than anything else, even if it means that we will fail to reach others with the gospel. We aren’t all that excited about bringing sinners into the church because they make us uncomfortable, have differing tastes in music and expression, and alter the aura of our place. We have generally failed to be gripped by the urgency of our task.
Scripture gives a picture of God’s heart on this:
- Jesus clearly explained the nothing excites the heart of God more than when the lost are found. (Luke 15 – the parables of the lost sheep, the lost coin, the two lost sons)
- Jesus gave us the Great Commandment — the most important thing we must do is love God…and we do that best by loving people. This is what really matters. The first way to love people, of course, is to make sure their eternal destiny is secured in Heaven. Life here is a fleeting breath, but eternity is where true and enduring life is found. We are to be immersed with this in partnership with loving God. We cannot do one without the other – “the second is like it” (similar in nature and essence).
- The Great Commission is given to make sure that the disciples carry on the most important work of all – reproducing disciples. The contemporary understanding of discipleship is severely flawed when it considers this a process to primarily help believers mature. A disciple, according to scripture, is a disciple whether they are one minute old in Christ or fifty years a believer. Jesus is telling us to win others into the Kingdom of God.
You and I need to be so gripped with the vision that God has for us, what He wants to do in and through you, that you realize how silly your own infatuations really are. It’s not about you. It never was and never will be. It’s all about Him, His plan, His passion, and the people He’s longing to see come into the Kingdom. Yes—“He desires that all be saved and come to a knowledge of the truth,” 1 Timothy 2:4. Has this gripped you?