Friday, April 30, 2010

What If?

What if Jesus saw the church he wanted to build (Matt. 16:18), before the foundation of the world (Eph. 1:4)? What if Jesus was God? As far as the heavens are about the earth, so far are God’s ways and God’s thoughts above our thoughts (Is. 55:9).

What if we stopped following men, and started following Jesus? Jesus paints a picture of what his church will accomplish. Jesus church will:

1) display his wisdom before the heavenly realms (Eph. 3:10).

2) consist of a people which would be “a great multitude which no one could count, from every nation and all tribes and peoples and tongues, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes” (Revelation 7:9).

3) grow one disciple at a time (Matthew 28:19-20).

The church exists, for one purpose only: “to glorify God” (Eph. 3:21), and is left on earth for one mission: “to make disciples” (Matt. 28:20).

What if we joined Jesus in this goal, and on this mission, and saw God’s wisdom displayed in Calgary, by the shocking transformation of sinners into saints, the hurting into the helping, people from every cultural background, every age group and every socio-economic condition all joined together on a single mission? What if we were the ones through whom Christ accomplished his purpose, to glorify God, one disciple at a time?


What if Jesus told us how to do this? The Bible seems to suggest that he did. 1 Corinthians 3: 10 warns, “Let each one take care how he builds…”. Paul wrote to Timothy, “I write so that you will know how one ought to conduct himself in the household of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and support of the truth.” (1 Timothy 3:15).

What if we asked, “am I doing God’s work God’s way?”