It has been a few weeks since my last post and I have been
pondering quite a lot. The urgency I felt concerning the return of Christ has
me asking questions such as “how does one life with a prioritized urgency
toward the return of Christ?” The question seems rather cavernous to me. We
have all heard the stories of incorrect urgency like date setting, monetary
mishaps, and general chaos but the doctrine of the return of Jesus Christ
should cause us to live in certain ways with certain priorities.
One idea that crossed my mind was that the urgency of Christ’s
return should push us into completing the Great Commission (Matthew 28:19-20). While
this is definitely not a new idea and probably is the first thing many of you
thought of as well, I pondered the Great Commission in the midst of everyday
life. Daily life seems to get in the way of the great commission which then
removes the urgency of the return of Christ from thought. This is a problem
because the Great Commission is not just for clergy or career missionaries.
Again, I admit all these thoughts are not new but current in my mind. I do think
that the urgency of Christ’s return is possibly less prominent in modern
western Christianity, as a motivation than say general good discipleship practices.
We shouldn’t evangelize to be good Christians.
We evangelize because Jesus is going to return. Our daily situation should be
proven to be opportunistic for evangelism, not limiting. Evangelism can be so
many things. One thing, I thought I
should mention, is that if your church has evangelism programs or mission
outreach, plan on getting involved on some level or increasing your level. Participating
in corporate evangelism efforts will raise your awareness on a daily level. If your
church doesn’t have an outreach ministry then you could help create one. I am
not suggesting a “Billy Graham” sized ministry unless God leads you. Let the urgency of the return of Christ lift
your vision and push you on to participating in the Great Commission.
The idea of daily evangelism was confirmed to me through Dan
Slade’s Message at New Day Church this past Sunday. Dan taught about multiple
styles of evangelism with interesting stories about God’s grace to bring people
into relationship with Him. I would recommend that you listen to the teaching when
you can. (www.newdaychurchsc.com)
Jesus is coming again. He will appear and every eye will see
Him (Rev 1:7) As Christians we need to remember this and let it fill our lives
with hopeful expectancy. The Bible is clear that we should be motivated to live
with the return of Christ as our priority. I am still working on reprioritizing
my life and thought processes to fit this mandate and I hope you will too.
If you are reading this blog and you have not heard the Gospel of Jesus Christ or have not believed for yourself, I want you to know that Yahweh is real and He loves you and has purposed to be in relationship with you. Believe and be saved
