.png)
Bulletin articles
Missing Opportunities
I fear that Christians are missing one of the greatest opportunities we have seen in our lifetime to testify to the world of the power and glory of God.
One of the significant takeaways from the book of Revelation is the emphasis on the testimony of the faithful witnesses who give their lives to bear witness to the nations with the goal of bringing the nations to faith.
God’s people are meant to be a blessing to the nations, testifying to the power of Christ in their lives so that others who see how Christians face trials and death will also want to come to Christ.
What do we do? We bicker. We complain. We fight over masks and lockdowns and have link wars about which experts are good or bad. We fuss about athletes and their versions of protests.
I don’t know what the outcome of all of this will be; we all have opinions, often quite strong. I know we will make different judgments about how to proceed, and it is doubtful that one more link or one more complaint-post or meme will change minds. Only God knows where it is all going. But we need to be asking ourselves this:
Is this what our King wants us to be doing? Are people seeing Christ lifted up and exalted through these things? In all of this, are we testifying about Jesus Christ? Are we showing the power of the crucified and risen Lord in our lives? Are we pointing the nations to Jesus? Are we giving others reasons to glorify God? Or do we fan the fuel of hatred toward Christians by behaviors that we need to rise above? What are people seeing?
It’s an opportunity, and I fear the Lord’s people are missing it. I am missing it.
Let us be devoted, today, to showing forth the testimony of our Lord in our lives. The gospel is for the healing of the nations, and this will not be accomplished by our strife, divisions over the world’s concerns, and devouring one another on social media. Lights need to be shining (Matt 5:12-14; Phil 2:14-16). Love needs to be flowing. As the deer pants for the water brooks, so must our souls be panting for the Lord. Let us seize this opportunity.
“Beloved, I urge you as sojourners and exiles to abstain from the passions of the flesh, which wage war against your soul. Keep your conduct among the Gentiles honorable, so that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day of visitation” (1 Pet 2:11-12).
