Do you remember being a little girl and looking gazingly up to someone older than you? I do! My daddy was a pastor at his first church, where he served as the senior pastor and the youth pastor. I was in elementary school. I can remember thinking of those youth girls as unbelievably beautiful and effortlessly graceful. Now on the other side of my teenage years, I realize the absurdity of describing some of the most awkward years of a girl’s life as graceful and effortless. But to my little eyes, these girls were fabulous and I idolized them!
Then most likely you woke up one day and realized that you are that person with lots of eyes on you! Maybe those eyes are your children or little girls in your church peering up to you, like I was. Maybe you are a middle-age mom and a younger mom is looking up to you. Maybe you are a widow and single women find refuge in you, as one who points them to Christ. The examples are endless, but each of these roles is crucial.
Chapters of our lives continually change. As women, we wear so many different hats! Each one bears rich opportunities to invest in other women, some who walk with our Lord and some who need to be introduced to our Savior. No age or circumstances can stop your influence from going out. Eyes are already on you, but it would be to your advantage to identify them! 1Timothy 4:12 says, “Let no one despise you for your youth, but set the believers an example in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith, in purity.” First, don’t take it to heart if someone looks down on you for any God-given circumstances, and don’t let it discourage you from accomplishing the work God has set out for you through Christ Jesus. Second, set an example. The word for example means to set a pattern that makes an impact and is not the same after that impact. The truth is that you ARE leaving an impact in every place you spend time. The question is what kind of impact is it?
So let’s look both ways. Look up to mature women who are following Christ. I’ve found it richly beneficial to spend time with a woman in the next phase of life. Whose example can you watch in marriage, in biblical womanhood, in quiet times, in service to her family, to her local church, and to others? Once you’ve identified who this woman is in your life, spend time in her home. Go wash dishes with her. Ask to accompany her on her next grocery trip. Be eager to learn, not from the world, but from women who pattern their lives after our Lord Jesus.
Next, who are you investing your life in? I guarantee someone is looking up to you. Do not waste that impact. Identify those gazing eyes and point those eyes to Christ. Intentionally seek after those girls with purpose. Take them to lunch. Invite them into your home and into your life. Be real. Teach practical things. Share your story. Ask question. Listen. Learn. Love.
I believe both of these practices are worth making priorities in your life. This is life on life discipleship.
Saturday, February 11, 2012
Friday, February 10, 2012
The Very Story of My Life
This is a reflection on a chapter from Theology and Practice of Mission edited by Bruce Riley Ashford. Reading parts of this book has given me understanding and has called me to action.
I feel like I am reading the very story of my life. I already am a believer and follower of Jesus Christ and to read this gives a richer and deeper purpose to my life than I have even known. As I read, I am filled with this deep sense of “This is the purpose of my all-together existence.” I have been redeemed to live no longer for myself but to participate with my Redeemer in the proclamation of His great name! It is not through evangelism alone, but through investing in lives, teaching all the commandments of Christ, and guiding and assisting in obeying those commandments. Page 44 says, “The aim is sanctification and conformation to the image of Christ.” I ask, “Do you mean the sanctification and conformation of the one being discipled or my own?” Because the Spirit’s work of uniting me to God's purpose of my participation in the missio Dei is sanctifying and conforming me to the image of the Son! This is a brilliant design. (Of course it is; it’s God’s design). The involvement of the redeemed continues the work of our own salvation, while drawing other image bearers back into proper worship!
As I continue reading, I am in awe of the truth God is unfolding about my life. I am doing the 2+2 program. When I tell people that it is a Masters in International Church Planting, I cannot give a good defense of what that means. Honestly, I have worked hard to explain that church planting is probably not the best way to describe what I am actually hoping to do overseas but that would of course be the hoped for result. Now I see how very wrong I have been and how beautifully clear my calling is! It is to plant churches, first and foremost! In the previous paragraph I mentioned my love for making disciples and investing deeply this life-altering truth. Now I see that the obvious, there is a name for doing that. It is the church, and the obvious result would be to plant churches! If you are reading this, you probably think, that I must not have had much church experience or at least not a very good one, but that is not the case. Today, God is just opening my eyes to a new level of what the church means and what church planting means. Page 44 says that the New Testament argues “for church planting as a central element of man’s role in the mission Dei…” That is not the opinion of a theologian; it is the mandate of Scripture. The rest of the quoted sentence says, “…particularly in pioneer areas.” This line speaks clarity into my life; it delivers renewed awareness of the need to go into the hard places, not because the places are hard or by obligation of what I am supposed to do but because of the mandate and privilege to partake in discipleship and church planting.
Let's not miss the part that says, “Jesus himself… established the church. He purchased it with his own blood, and it is his bride…” !! I sense the importance of the warning not to separate discipleship or evangelism away from the church. I imagine serving as an individual in the workplace or on the foreign mission field, it would be easy to think one-on-one discipleship is the best way. But I see now that without rooting it in the church, there is danger of neglecting God’s vital focus- the church.
"First, if sin is the root cause of the curse, then the gospel- in its narrow sense- is the fundamental solution. The salvation of man constitutes a central feature of God's mission. Therefore, proclamation of the gospel is ultimate. Christopher Wright explains well the difference between primacy and ultimacy, 'Mission may not always begin with evangelism. But mission that does not ultimately include declaring the Word and the name of Christ, the call to repentance, and faith and obedience has not completed its task.' Ultimately, our responsibility extends beyond evangelism, however. In his final pre-ascension commission, Jesus defined his followers' task as making disciples, a more comprehensive assignment that includes teaching believer to obey all that Christ commanded. In biblical or theological terms, the aim is sanctification and conformation to the image of Christ." (Excerpt from page 44 of Theology and Practice of Mission.)
I feel like I am reading the very story of my life. I already am a believer and follower of Jesus Christ and to read this gives a richer and deeper purpose to my life than I have even known. As I read, I am filled with this deep sense of “This is the purpose of my all-together existence.” I have been redeemed to live no longer for myself but to participate with my Redeemer in the proclamation of His great name! It is not through evangelism alone, but through investing in lives, teaching all the commandments of Christ, and guiding and assisting in obeying those commandments. Page 44 says, “The aim is sanctification and conformation to the image of Christ.” I ask, “Do you mean the sanctification and conformation of the one being discipled or my own?” Because the Spirit’s work of uniting me to God's purpose of my participation in the missio Dei is sanctifying and conforming me to the image of the Son! This is a brilliant design. (Of course it is; it’s God’s design). The involvement of the redeemed continues the work of our own salvation, while drawing other image bearers back into proper worship!
"Second, the clear precept and practice of the New Testament affirms the church's importance and, therefore argues for church planting as a central element of man's role in the missio Dei, particularly in pioneer areas. Although Jesus himself never started a church, he clearly intended to establish the church (Matt. 16:18). He is the cornerstone (Eph. 2:20) and head (Col. 1:18). He purchased it with his own blood (Acts 20:28), and it is his bride (Eph. 5:25-27; Rev. 19). The covenant relationship of church life is the God appointed context for making disciples." (Excerpt from page 44 of Theology and Practice of Mission.)
As I continue reading, I am in awe of the truth God is unfolding about my life. I am doing the 2+2 program. When I tell people that it is a Masters in International Church Planting, I cannot give a good defense of what that means. Honestly, I have worked hard to explain that church planting is probably not the best way to describe what I am actually hoping to do overseas but that would of course be the hoped for result. Now I see how very wrong I have been and how beautifully clear my calling is! It is to plant churches, first and foremost! In the previous paragraph I mentioned my love for making disciples and investing deeply this life-altering truth. Now I see that the obvious, there is a name for doing that. It is the church, and the obvious result would be to plant churches! If you are reading this, you probably think, that I must not have had much church experience or at least not a very good one, but that is not the case. Today, God is just opening my eyes to a new level of what the church means and what church planting means. Page 44 says that the New Testament argues “for church planting as a central element of man’s role in the mission Dei…” That is not the opinion of a theologian; it is the mandate of Scripture. The rest of the quoted sentence says, “…particularly in pioneer areas.” This line speaks clarity into my life; it delivers renewed awareness of the need to go into the hard places, not because the places are hard or by obligation of what I am supposed to do but because of the mandate and privilege to partake in discipleship and church planting.
Let's not miss the part that says, “Jesus himself… established the church. He purchased it with his own blood, and it is his bride…” !! I sense the importance of the warning not to separate discipleship or evangelism away from the church. I imagine serving as an individual in the workplace or on the foreign mission field, it would be easy to think one-on-one discipleship is the best way. But I see now that without rooting it in the church, there is danger of neglecting God’s vital focus- the church.
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