Representing Jesus
2020-12-08John 20:21 NLT
Jesus instructed the disciples to go out and share His message of love hope and peace, saying: ‘As the Father has sent me, so I am sending you.’ It’s an instruction for each one of us, too – we all have a responsibility to share the gospel message. But sometimes we can forget or lose sight of the fact that we’re representing Jesus, so here are a few things for us to hold on to:
1) We were sent to serve, not be served. ‘For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve others and to give his life as a ransom for many’ (Matthew 20:28 NLT). When we’re the last to be served in a restaurant, we can get impatient and angry. We might think we deserve better treatment. But in God’s kingdom the power is at the bottom, and it’s from there that Christ governs and conquers. We can’t represent Jesus well unless we’re willing to replace our pride with humility and be ready to help and serve others, whoever they are.
2) We were sent to do God’s will, not our own. Jesus said, ‘I have come down from heaven, not to do my own will but the will of him who sent me’ (John 6:38 ESV). It’s great to have aims and ambitions, but when we think or talk about them, we should always add, ‘If it’s God’s will.’ Choosing to pursue the wrong goal (which is one that isn’t God’s will) puts us on the wrong path and in the wrong place. John said, ‘The world and its desires pass away, but whoever does the will of God lives forever’ (1 John 2:17 NIV). When we miss God’s will, we miss the purpose that we were created for.