The authenticity of our Christianity is founded on following Jesus where He went, what He preached, and what he modeled.
Yes, it is our desire to dwell eternally in His presence and it is our calling to embody everything he taught us. But most of all, we must live by his example, no matter what our earthly vocation may be.
People were converted by Jesus, not through his words or what he believed in. Their conversion stemmed from His relationship with them, from their experience of God’s kingdom in his presence.
The primary way we communicate “the reign of God is at hand” is by our presence. Jesus gave us words, but more significantly, he gave his “flesh” for the life of the world—in the way he lived and the way he died.
The gospel was originally communicated person-to-person. Person-in-love-with-person, person-respecting-person, person-forgiving-person, person-touching-person, person-crying-with-person, person-hugging-person: that’s where the Spirit is so beautifully present.
When we see everyone in our life as people who are loved by God and as our fellow citizens in God’s kingdom, it becomes easier for us to give them our best. Life becomes an interactive relationship—reconciled to God, reconciled to one another—and we see our entire life as an opportunity to make the beautiful music of God’s kingdom so that more and more people are drawn into it, and our world is changed by our growing influence.
Matthew 16:24-26 “If any of you wants to be my follower, you must give up your own way, take up your cross, and follow me. If you try to hang on to your life, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for my sake, you will save it. And what do you benefit if you gain the whole world but lose your own soul? Is anything worth more than your soul?”
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