Theme: We have already died, so what is the big deal?
In Genesis 1:26 (NIV), we read, "Then God said, "Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness, so that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals, and over all the creatures that move along the ground." The US and OUR image are the first indications of our Triune God. Then, in chapter 2, God said, "It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him."
From the first book of our history with our God, we become aware of a few essential truths. First, our God is one Godhead with multiple persons in complete harmony and love, three in one. Furthermore, our God created us in His image and for companionship with Him and all His creation. We learn that it is not suitable for us to be alone. Each of us, those we know and do not know, those we are fond of, those who may reject us, and those near and far away in other lands, are all created in God's image.
Remember those thoughts as we ponder Dr. Chambo's message on faith this past Sunday. Dr. Chambo used Jesus' words, as recorded by Luke in the book of Luke, chapter 13 and verses 18 through 21. Allow me to remind you of those words of Jesus, "Then Jesus asked, "What is the kingdom of God like? What shall I compare it to? It is like a mustard seed a man took and planted in his garden. It grew and became a tree, and the birds perched in its branches." Again, he asked, "What shall I compare the kingdom of God to? It is like yeast that a woman mixed into about sixty pounds of flour until it worked through the dough."
Jesus tells us that the tiniest faith in God's Kingdom and Power put into action here on earth will permeate all it touches, take root, and grow beyond anything we can imagine. Dr. Chambo has seen this in his native continent of Africa, and we see it in the early church of Christ when a few men of faith and conviction lit a spark that has overcome all obstacles, growing until today.
Look at the life of Jesus, as written by James A. Francis in his article, "One Solitary Life that Changed the World," "Here is a man who was born in an obscure village, the child of a peasant woman. He grew up in another obscure village. He worked in a carpenter shop until He was thirty, and then for three years, He was an itinerant preacher. He never wrote a book. He never held an office. He never owned a home. He never had a family. He never went to college. He never put his foot inside a big city. He never traveled two hundred miles from the place where He was born. He never did one of the things that contemporary society would consider a sign of greatness. He had no credentials but Himself. He had nothing of this world, only the power of His divine manhood. While still a young man, popular opinion turned against Him.His friends ran away. One of them denied Him; another betrayed Him. Handed over to His enemies, He went through the mockery of a trial and was nailed to a cross between two thieves. While He was dying, His executioners gambled for the only piece of property He had on earth—His coat. When He was dead, He was taken down and laid in a borrowed grave through the pity of a friend. Twenty centuries have come and gone, and He is the centerpiece of the human race, the most significant source of guidance and divine inspiration. I am far within the mark when I say that all the armies that ever marched, and all the navies that ever were built, and all the parliaments that ever sat, and all the kings that ever reigned, put together, have not affected the life of man upon this earth as powerfully as that one solitary life—Jesus!"
Jesus is the same man who told us that the tiniest seed or the slightest bit of yeast could change the world, and His incarnate life proved it.
And we are created in His image, empowered by the Holy Spirit, and called to see all who we share this rock with us as having the same value, because we are all created by the same God and in His image. Just as Jesus came for all those who He encountered, whether they loved Him or hated Him, we too are to go to wherever and to whomever He leads us, to love unconditionally, not evaluating the scope of the mission, sharing the Gospel of our Savior, and letting our inadequate words and underwhelming lives be the tiny seeds and specks of yeast that He will use in the ground and dough of His Kingdom for everyone He places in our path, for His Glory.
Scripture: 1 Corinthians 1:26-28 (NIV)
“Brothers and sisters, think of what you were when you were called. Not many of you were wise by human standards; not many were influential; not many were of noble birth. God chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things—and the things that are not—to nullify the things that are.”
Prayer:
Lord, work in me to see all humanity and creation as yours. Let me know that each person I meet, see or think about is like me, created in your image, and only separated f by our own shame and masks. Oh, I long to see your face, Lord, and to see the Glory in each of your creation. Send me, Father, to wherever you can use me, because I have already died in you, and live only for your Kingdom and your Glory. There is such freedom in knowing I have died and live only for you. Since I have died, my only worth is in you, and whatever I do, great or small, is now for your Glory alone. Please make that my reality every moment.
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