Mission Possible

There is this David Crowder song that I absolutely love. On one of our albums it flows straight out of another song, and the way that it builds with intensity and passion is so moving! The chorus goes like this:

And I will not be silent,
And I will not be quiet anymore.
And I will not be silent,
And I will not be quiet anymore.

I think that describes perfectly where I'm at these days. I believe that Jesus is the Holy Son of God, and I am convinced in my head and heart that His death was meant to pay my own penalty for sin. And I am tired of being too afraid or ashamed to say it. I will not be silent, I will not be quiet anymore.

After all, there is nothing to be afraid of! God has given us this very task of proclaiming the love of Jesus to the world! We have been given a mission, and I think that much of the church (for sure the American church, at least) has completely lost its way in a sea of tradition, rules, and additives. . . Where is the heart of Paul in our church that cries out -

And God has given us this task of reconciling people to him. For God was in Christ, reconciling the world to himself, no longer counting people’s sins against them. And he gave us this wonderful message of reconciliation. So we are Christ’s ambassadors; God is making his appeal through us. We speak for Christ when we plead, “Come back to God!” For God made Christ, who never sinned, to be the offering for our sin, so that we could be made right with God through Christ. 2 Cor. 5:19-21

We have this amazing mission - to share the love of a Savior! Oh, its like an epic legend, isn't it? But why are we so afraid? What is there to lose?

The gospel message is power. We don't have to be wise or crafty or persuasive. We must simply speak the truth - share from the depth of our own relationship with God. We have to keep our eyes focused on Jesus. . . And we have to be careful not to let our gospel message change.

It is easy to get caught up in 'worthy Christian battles.' We long to live uprightly and to make Godly choices - and the bible does call us to live a life worthy of our calling. . . but I think sometimes in our fight for the good, moral, choice we lose sight of our ministry of reconciliation.

We become consumed with informing others on the appropriate way to behave, or dress, or communicate - and we forget about the greater job of speaking the simple power of the gospel!! People need Jesus, they don't need our rules. When they understand, accept, and choose to live for Christ instead of themselves, they will become more like Him! Their behavior, dress and speech will change - because the Holy Spirit will be inside of them, convicting them of wrong attitudes or actions, and helping them to live a life worthy of their calling.

Now to clarify, I'm not saying that we ignore bad, sinful behavior. I'm saying that we don't so focus on fixing that bad, sinful behavior that we forget to share the love of Jesus. Our mission on this earth is to bring people to a point of reconciliation with God. To shout passionately and without apology, "Come back to God!!" The point of the church is to draw people who were once far from God into an intimate, restored relationship with Him.

Let us never lose sight of that awesome task. And let us cry out together, at the top of our lungs-

I will not be silent.
I will not be quiet anymore.

There is power in the message of the cross. There is unending love, hope and healing in the truth of God's word.