Being Made Ready to Witness
I was driving to the church this morning and saw a man running. He was covered in sweat and did not have on a shirt. You could tell he works out. Wow was he in shape. He had a tattoo on his chest that looked like he was in the Marine Corps. This guy could be on the poster for recruiting for the Marines. It got me to thinking about what it means to be a soldier. It means becoming a soldier. It means having discipline of body and mind. To do it right is a 24-7 thing not just a 9 to 5 thing. It is to become heart and soul connected and sold out so as to be ready for a mission. The end result of that mission is often to allow a leader to implement their will over a people or a situation.
Then I started to wonder, am I as disciplined in my discipleship mission? That is, am I “working out” so that I can become fully Christ like? Do I have the discipline and am I being made ready? Jesus left us the mission to go and make disciples in all of the earth. This is a mission to change the world. It is in fact a mission that imposes God’s will over our will and to bring about his kingdom on the earth. As I pray “thy kingdom come thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven,” I realize that the mission has already been presented. There is one key difference between being a soldier in an earthly kingdom and a soldier in the kingdom of Christ. The difference being the mission is not to be accomplished by force; it is to be accomplished by love.
Jesus does not impose his will; he attracts people by his beauty. The question is, “am I being made beautiful like Jesus?” But the only way people will see the beauty of Christ in me, which is the love of the father, is if I live it out. The only way that I can live out love is to be made like Christ. To be made like Christ is a work of the Holy Spirit, and a work of my will. I have been saved by grace, but I am being made Christ like through sanctification. John Wesley spoke often of living a life of holiness so that we could be people who live lives that transform the world. John Wesley was a fiercely devoted man to these principles.
When I saw the runner, the whole essence of his being told me immediately who he was. The training that he devoted himself to had resulted in a transformation of his body. His superior tuned body witnessed to me immediately who he was. We too are called to a life of discipline that transforms. The question is: Do you immediately see Jesus in me?
Rev. Patrick Evans