Evangelize. Multiply. Make disciples. Buzzwords I keep hearing from many of the more active Christian organizations. How could anyone be so wrong by being at the same time so right? Just asking this question brings answer to my mind, an example similar in many ways.
There used to be a group of people who loved God from all they heart. In fact, their ways are still alive and kicking. They had a deep and absolutely correct understanding of the will of God – love your neighbour, everything else is an application (or: do to others as you would like to be done to you, if you were in their position) – and they were sincere to their heart in following this principle and often did a considerable effort to accomplish this task. Not so that they would earn anything with it, but because they loved God and at all times they were giving thanks to God for helping them live such lives. All in all, they were the kind of people we might easily call “good” or “godly”.
In fact, Jesus himself credited this type of people once or twice.
He also called them hypocrites (which was an insult, since they were sincere to their heart) who could not recognize the truth even if he would walk to them and introduce himself. Which he actually did:
“You diligently study the Scriptures because you think that by them you possess eternal life. These are the Scriptures that testify about me” (John 5:39, NIV)
And this was precisely their problem. The Pharisees were eager at what they did, and while on the surface what they did was good, it had not “life” in it. Their deeds were not work of the Spirit. Outward, there was no difference, the very same behaviour, the very same words, tone… but while one imitates the behaviour of a child of God, another IS a child of God and anything he does is according to that behaviour.
To be born again is to let God take away our old selves, who can never be His children, only imitate that kind of behaviour. And be born form above, united in His only begotten son, Jesus. And act accordingly, growing up to do what we do best, that is to say: what those of the kin of God do best. Be ourselves, that’s all.
As Yoda once said to Luke Skywalker: Don’t try to lift the X-Wing with the Force. If you try, you have already implied you would fail. Do it. We are not called to try to act according to His will. We are called to act according to His will, called as in a promise: This is what shall happen.
Then, is it not His will, that we evangelize, multiply and make disciples. Certainly. But if we look at that, we will miss the point: We we turn to Jesus, He will make us to do all that. Therefore there’s very little point in saying that these things are important. They are natural consequences we need to manage.
But our focus, that is to be in Jesus, not telling about Him. Let’s put our mouth where our money is.
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