My Mission Statement
November 4, 2007
by Michael Schwartz
I am writing this post for my friends. This is also for your friends,
and their friends... this is for my entire generation.
I know you guys believe in God. I know that you believe that Jesus
was crucified on the cross to pay the penalty for our sin. I know
you believe that God loves you more than you could ever imagine.
There is more, though. There is more that you might not know.
Just because you go to church every week or your parents are
Christian--that doesn't make you one, too. Christianity isn't
something you can inherit. It's not something that you can just
accept as true and then go on with your life. It's not just a set
of beliefs.
I've seen what you do. You say you love God--but do you really?
Are you willing to give up everything you have to follow Him?
Would you listen to and obey God even if no one else would?
I know in your head, you just said "yes" to all of those things.
After all, you're a Christian--you're expected to. But, like I
said before, just because you go to church, read your Bible, or do
any of that stuff does not mean you love God. It just means you
are following the socially-accepted method of looking like a
Christian. Is that what you want? To just be a cheap imitation?
A mere image of a Christian? A look-alike?
How would you like to actually BE a Christian instead of just
looking like one?
Matthew 12:1-4
At that time Jesus went on the sabbath day through the corn; and
his disciples were an hungred, and began to pluck the ears of
corn, and to eat. But when the Pharisees saw it, they said unto
him, Behold, thy disciples do that which is not lawful to do upon
the sabbath day. But he said unto them, Have ye not read what
David did, when he was an hungred, and they that were with him;
How he entered into the house of God, and did eat the shewbread,
which was not lawful for him to eat, neither for them which were
with him, but only for the priests?
Look at these verses. Here, Jesus is referring to 1 Samuel 21:1-9.
He points out to the Pharisees an inconsistency in their doctrine.
They regarded King David as one of the greatest spiritual and
political leaders in Israel, but they also embraced the Mosaic
teaching that priests and only priests could enter the Holy Place
and eat the shewbread. So how could they explain how David, who
did not meet any of the requirements of a priest, could seemingly
disgrace the temple of God and the ordinance of God by not
following His set procedures... and still be called "a man after
God's own heart"?
The answer is simple: David simply did not like the idea that
someone else would replace his relationship with God. He wasn't
okay with someone else worshipping God and doing God's work for
him. He wanted his own relationship with God. That is why David
violated the Jewish tradition, as Jesus did, and entered into the
presence of God, fellowshipping with Him by eating the
consecrated bread.
Let's look at a real relationship between two people: what would
it be like if we could never directly talk to each other, but had
to have a mediator between us? What if I wanted to talk to my
friend Bob, but in order to talk to Bob, I had to tell it to Joe
who would then relay my message to Bob, and then Bob's message
back to me? It wouldn't be very effective, would it?
When you live your life as the average Christian does, sitting
in a pew listening to a sermon every week, you are allowing
something to come between you and God. You don't have your own
relationship with God; no, you wait until church comes 'round
again so you can hear God through someone else. It doesn't have
to be that way. On top of hearing what God does in others' lives,
you can have your own stories to share. Doesn't that sound cool?
My own relationship with God hasn't lasted much longer than a
year, but in that time, God Himself has shown me more things
than all of the other sermons I've ever heard in my lifetime
combined. When God speaks to me, He speaks directly to my needs.
His words and teachings are specifically designed for me taking
into account my situations, thoughts, feelings, desires,
priorities, mindset... everything. You can't get that in a
sermon.
I'm sure that you also want to let God's light shine through you
so that many can be saved... all Christians do, right? But
remember that when you're witnessing to people, you're
WITNESSING to them. You can't expect many to be saved if you
yourself have not personally witnessed the power of God. The most
you can do is share second-hand stories or give half-baked answers
to obvious and famous questions... but then there will come a time
when someone poses a question to you that you don't know the
answer to. What will you do then?
If you have a relationship with God, you can show them with your
life what being as Christian is all about, and God Himself will
reveal to you everything you need to know to be a witness to that
person.
Going to church everyday, reading your Bible, and being raised in
a Christian home won't make you any more of a Christian than
watching action movies will make you a cop. This is it. This is
your chance to become more than just a mere observer. You can
become more than just another member of a congregation of some
church.
I want you to examine your heart and find out where you really
lie. Don't read this and move on as if it's something you already
know. I want you to really think about what I've written here.
Do you love God?
Are you listening to Him?
Does He teach you things outside of what you learn in church?
Take this moment and pray. Tell God that you want to have a real
relationship with Him. Tell Him that you want to take the
shewbread and eat it. You don't want to just be content listening
to others talk about Him. You don't want a mediator. You want to
get to know God yourself. You want Jesus.
Amen.
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E-mail me: vektor@xpertstudios.net
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