The Great Commission admonishes us to "go into the world and make disciples". So most may understand this to mean that we drop what we're doing & hit the road. Jesus had also made the statement that if "anyone loved his father or mother more than Me, is not worthy of Me." So we should all "take up our Cross daily and follow Him, right?
Maybe.
Yes, I said, "Maybe". Why? Because I have since wondered if we're not trying to create a hybrid gospel from two different directions. I have always been told I should "be a witness" for Christ. That I need to pray to ask God to "help me be a witness" for Him. It suddently dawned on me that no one has to "be a witness" at all. Even the last verses in Matthew (that we have labeled, "The Great Commission" passage) never says anyone has to, "be a witness".
It says "you shall be My witnesses".
Big difference, Chester. Big difference. If you know Christ as the Lord & Savior of your life, whether you want to (or like it) or not, you are a witness. Plain and simple. Christ first wants our devotion, He wants our desires, He wants our passion. He wants us to want Him more than we want our parents, our spouse, our children...our red Corvette... Then, once we have chosen Him above & beyond all others, He says that we will be a witness for Him. We don't have to try to be - or ask for help at being - a witness. We are one.
The Great Commission, in actuality, is not saying we are to drop what we are doing & "be a witness". What the intention of this passage is saying is "As you go about in the world around you, make disciples". Include disciple-making in your plans. It doesn't say to enroll in an Evangelism Explosion course and start trying to convert every pagan in sight. It is implying that in your travels, in your circle of friends and acquaintences, and in your "world", find ways to make disciples, too.
Now, can a person be a "disciple" and not be committed to Christ? Obviously, the answer is "no". Can a person be evangelistic & not committed to Christ? Well...yes. Anyone can take a salesmanship course on salvation. Being "a witness" is not necessarily connected to being a Christian. But being a Christian certainly has a lot to do with being evangelistic.
I believe God is saying we should not have to have the pressure of being someone we are not in order to share who we are in Him. And we shouldn't work ourselves up if we see another Believer who is not who we think they should be just because they are not acting like we think a Christian ought. It is God who is the One to determine how committed to Him each person really is.
So for me to assume that if you are not as evangelistic as I then you are not as committed as I, is doing the body of Christ a genuine disservice. Your committment to God should have no bearing on my assumption on you. God uses each one of His Servants to accomplish what He intends. For me to question how He uses another servant for His Purpose is to usurp His Divine Authority in creation.
Besides, if I spend most of my time fretting over the committment of others, I have little time to evaluate my own committment to Christ...and my evangelistic zeal will soon loose its edge.
4.24.2005
4.02.2005
Deathwatching
Talk about a morbid society.
We spent countless days hearing and watching Terri Schiavo slip into death as she was left on her own after her feeding tube was removed. Terri, who doctors say was severely mentally handicapped after an eating disorder caused her to slip into a coma, told her husband that she did not want to be hooked up to a machine if she could not live on her own. He was carrying out her wishes (sans a legal document called a "living will") and ended up being lionized for his decisions. Yeah, I know there area two sides to every story and I'm sure I'm not getting both of them. I'm not going to get in the middle of this with a long drawn out opinion. But I will say this whole case is a good lesson in setting up a living will.
If I specify in my living will (with sound mind & judgment) that if I become incapacitated in some way that I do not want to be kept alive by tubes & monitors -- even to the extent that if I have no quality of life left -- I desire to be euthanized, then the medical team has no other choice but to follow my wishes.
Most folks when they get married at an early age never think about setting up a will of any kind. This is about as stupid as buying a car & not setting up insurance.
Now for the family of Terri Schiavo, all they got was a media circus as everyone watched her slowly die. Here's the wild thing about this: I heard on the news that some individuals were willing to pay their own money to keep her alive. Now, if my father or mother were in this situation, why wouldn't someone do this for me? How silly. While this deathwatch was going on, all the kooks and maniacs were parading around in front of news cameras ...some even were allowed to open their mouths on national TV... and turning the whole process into a mockery.
Where are these loonies when it is being debated on whether or not to abort a baby?
Where are these bozos as another deathwatch is literally following right after Schiavo's death? The Pope of the Roman Catholic Church lies in the Vatican slipping in and out of consciousness. Did they remove HIS feeding tube? He chose to leave this earth in his Vatican apartment. Not in a hospital. Where are all the maniacs screaming at the biships & priests demanding that the Pontiff be placed in a facility where they can keep him alive? What is the difference?
The thing that is most morbid is that now we have two deathwatches in a row ... and it is the primary focus of all the media attention. The whole nation is fixated on dying. What is wrong with this???
You know what I've been doing? Ive been celebrating life by totally immersing myself in my two little boys. I am soaking up everytime they repeatedly say, "Daddy!" - even if it's the 467th time today. I am giving them my undivided attention when they ask me something. I am telling them about their family...their other relatives from whom they decended. I am exploring their world and re-examining mine.
When this whole deathwatch is over, can we please try a little lifewatching for a while?
We spent countless days hearing and watching Terri Schiavo slip into death as she was left on her own after her feeding tube was removed. Terri, who doctors say was severely mentally handicapped after an eating disorder caused her to slip into a coma, told her husband that she did not want to be hooked up to a machine if she could not live on her own. He was carrying out her wishes (sans a legal document called a "living will") and ended up being lionized for his decisions. Yeah, I know there area two sides to every story and I'm sure I'm not getting both of them. I'm not going to get in the middle of this with a long drawn out opinion. But I will say this whole case is a good lesson in setting up a living will.
If I specify in my living will (with sound mind & judgment) that if I become incapacitated in some way that I do not want to be kept alive by tubes & monitors -- even to the extent that if I have no quality of life left -- I desire to be euthanized, then the medical team has no other choice but to follow my wishes.
Most folks when they get married at an early age never think about setting up a will of any kind. This is about as stupid as buying a car & not setting up insurance.
Now for the family of Terri Schiavo, all they got was a media circus as everyone watched her slowly die. Here's the wild thing about this: I heard on the news that some individuals were willing to pay their own money to keep her alive. Now, if my father or mother were in this situation, why wouldn't someone do this for me? How silly. While this deathwatch was going on, all the kooks and maniacs were parading around in front of news cameras ...some even were allowed to open their mouths on national TV... and turning the whole process into a mockery.
Where are these loonies when it is being debated on whether or not to abort a baby?
Where are these bozos as another deathwatch is literally following right after Schiavo's death? The Pope of the Roman Catholic Church lies in the Vatican slipping in and out of consciousness. Did they remove HIS feeding tube? He chose to leave this earth in his Vatican apartment. Not in a hospital. Where are all the maniacs screaming at the biships & priests demanding that the Pontiff be placed in a facility where they can keep him alive? What is the difference?
The thing that is most morbid is that now we have two deathwatches in a row ... and it is the primary focus of all the media attention. The whole nation is fixated on dying. What is wrong with this???
You know what I've been doing? Ive been celebrating life by totally immersing myself in my two little boys. I am soaking up everytime they repeatedly say, "Daddy!" - even if it's the 467th time today. I am giving them my undivided attention when they ask me something. I am telling them about their family...their other relatives from whom they decended. I am exploring their world and re-examining mine.
When this whole deathwatch is over, can we please try a little lifewatching for a while?
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