WATCHWORD:
Jesus said, “‘Love the Lord your God with all your passion and prayer and intelligence.’ This is the most important, the first on any list. But there is a second to set alongside it: ‘Love others as well as you love yourself.’ These two commands are pegs; everything in God’s Law and the Prophets hangs from them. Matt 22:37-40 The Message
Jesus, undeterred, went right ahead and gave his charge: “God authorized and commanded me to commission you: Go out and train everyone you meet, far and near, in this way of life, marking them by baptism in the threefold name: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Then instruct them in the practice of all I have commanded you. I’ll be with you as you do this, day after day after day, right up to the end of the age. Matt 28:18-20 The Message
Meditation:
Parable of ___Your name goes here ___
Have you ever thought of your life being a parable? Would Christ ever use your life to illustrate the goodness of people, like the Parable of the Good Samaritan? Maybe the Parable of the Hospital Visitor? The Parable of the Faithful Friend? Parable of the Dinner Provider? Parable of the Blessed Greeting-card Lady? How about the Parable of the Grumpy Christian?
Make no mistake about it, we could all be featured in the Parable of the Sinner Saved by Grace. Our lives could, indeed, be a parable, if you think about it. God designed us for a purpose, lives that have meaning, and He has equipped us for success in that purpose. Our job is to sort it out, “Where are you taking me, Lord, what is my purpose?”
Many of us are familiar with Rick Warren’s book, The Purpose Driven Life. The book has been used in Christian education seminars and Sunday school classes, preached from the pulpit and read as a 40-day daily devotional (a chapter a day). At the heart of his book are the two key instructions that Christ gave to His disciples, and to us: The Great Commandment and the Great Commission.
Read again the passages above, these are Christ’s five-point instruction to us, the outline of what it takes to become one of Christ’s Parables. The five-points are very familiar, it is just a matter of following through—
- Love God through worship, and surrendering yourself to Him. This is an active and intentional devotion to God. Nothing passive about it.
- Love your neighbor. Remember that one? Yes, that is all-inclusive. Nothing selective about it. You don’t love this one, but not that one. Sounds easy, but it isn’t.
- Another familiar one – Go and make disciples. Now that is hard! No, that one is easy! It is as simple as living your faith, taking the opportunity to speak about it when circumstances present themselves. It also means applying your faith in everyday decisions. A lot like paying attention to: “What would Jesus do?”
- Baptize them in the Name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Wait! I’m not a pastor, I can’t baptize people! You can in the sense that you are committed to His purposes through fellowship, outreach, service to others. You prayerfully put yourself out there in the name of our Lord. As His Word reaching others, via you, His Word is a form of baptism.
- This last point is difficult, but nothing you can’t handle. Teach others in the way of Christ. We do this by the Parable of our Lives, living as Christ would have us live, and seeking to be more and more like Christ, the imitation of our Lord.
Okay, so it is a big order, but with a big reward. Living an amazing life filled with God’s graces, and enriching the lives of others around us. In short, living the purpose that God prepared us to be, and remember His words: I’ll be with you as you do this, day after day after day, right up to the end of the age. Amen.
Bulletin Board:
Two dogs are talking —
“A man named Lot was warned to take his wife and flee out of the city, but she looked back and turned into a pillar of salt.”
“What happened to the flea?”
Closing Prayer:
Help me, Lord to be committed to what you have placed on my heart. Amen.
