“For Christ’s love compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all, and therefore all died.” 2 Corinthians 5:14
It was my privilege, at Missions Fest Seattle this year, to join a group of around 20 pastors and leaders for lunch with Kenneth Bae. Sadly, this name is not very well-known—pastors and missionaries who are imprisoned for preaching the Gospel of Christ are easily brushed aside with the advent of the next news cycle. The same could be said for Pastor Andrew Brunson who was recently released from a Turkish prison out of Turkey’s desire to get the US to pressure Saudi Arabia to give up details about the murder of a journalist at their embassy. Pawns for global politics is often what becomes of those imprisoned for preaching the Gospel. And the plight of such people is all too easily overlooked by a media that cares little for missionaries. I wonder, though, how many believers share the same dismissive attitude toward those imprisoned for their faith. Interestingly, one pastor confided in me at this event his natural prejudice against such imprisoned missionaries. We may wonder, “Did they do something to deserve this? Were they being foolish? Why were they in a country so hostile to Christians anyway?” I have to be honest…in the back of my mind thoughts like this find a home. Interestingly, the apostle Paul, a man who also knew about being persecuted and imprisoned for the Gospel, faced similar criticisms. Some thought Paul was too fanatical about his missionary work…even that he was out of his mind. Paul’s response? “If we are out of our mind, it is for the sake of God; if we are in our right mind, it is for you” (2 Cor. 5:13). Paul says, “there’s a method to our madness.” Or, maybe more fittingly, “there’s a message behind our madness.” But, ultimately, his compulsion to preach is rooted in love for his audience. As we read in verse 14 above, “Christ’s love compels us!” The message of reconciliation to God through Christ’s sin-conquering death moves us to give up the accumulation of wealth, the pursuit of worldly success, and devotion to our own creature comforts so that we might offer eternal wealth, heavenly reward and divine comfort to others. It is the ministry of reconciliation that has captured Paul’s heart and moves him to “try to persuade men” and to “implore you on Christ’s behalf: be reconciled to God” (2 Cor. 5:11,20). Paul doesn’t view himself as a tent maker, even if it does pay the bills, he views himself as one of “Christ’s ambassadors.” This is who he is. This is what he’s about. What Paul reveals to us is a new, other-worldly view of reality. Jesus’ confrontation of Paul on that road to Damascus has changed everything for Paul. He writes, “So from now on we regard no one from a worldly point of view. Though we once regarded Christ in this way, we do so no longer. Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!” (2 Cor. 5:16–17). What Paul reveals here, however, is that this new perspective is not just for him, it’s for all of us. Anyone who is in Christ is a new creation! We are not who we were…living for selfish gain, oppressed by sinful patterns, pursuing short-lived pleasures. In Christ we are new creations; we are reconciled to our maker; we are recipients of His righteousness; we are living for His eternal Kingdom as His ambassadors! Granted, not many of us will end up spending two years and five days in a North Korean or Turkish prison for our efforts. Kenneth Bae shared this ironic similarity with his fellow prisoner, Andrew Brunson, that they both spent exactly two years and five days in prison before. In fact, they were also both 50 years old upon release. And they were both imprisoned because they viewed themselves as ambassadors of Christ, moved to persuade men, to implore all people to be reconciled to God through Christ. Again, the likelihood of you or I experiencing that extreme level of persecution may not be great. But this does not mean we are called to an any less extreme pursuit of Christ and His Kingdom. Interestingly, we hear very little about Paul’s career, tent-making, in his writings. But I’m guessing he didn’t talk much about it because he viewed this as secondary to his real job, the ministry of reconciliation through the Gospel. What if we viewed ourselves not as engineers or teachers or salespeople or tradespeople or clergy, but as ambassadors of Christ? What if our first inclination was to see ourselves as those charged with sharing the Gospel with others, seeing men and women, boys and girls, reconciled to God by faith in Christ’s finished work on the cross? As the day of Christ’s return quickly approaches, may we increasingly see ourselves as ambassadors for Christ!
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“You show that you are a letter from Christ, the result of our ministry, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stones but on tablets of human hearts.” 2 Corinthians 3:3
We live in an achievement culture. In this culture, worth is measured via quantifiable results, be they units produced, dollars gained or likes, shares or retweets. We judge ourselves not on who we are but on things we do which earn the praise of peers. Of course, what we do should flow from who we are. The problem is, in our short-cut prone society, we naturally tend to maximize the latter and minimize the former. We turn our focus to results rather than healthy growth. The results of this kind of behavior is that the growth we do see lacks depth. Focusing primarily on quantifiable results may lead to greater outward success, but inwardly it produces shallow, unhealthy people. The ramifications of the achievement culture, according to the book, The Burnout Society, often culminates in burnout—follows from overexcited, overdriven, excessive, self-reference that has assumed destructive traits. The exhausted, depressive achievement-subject grinds itself down, so to speak. It is tired, exhausted by itself, and at war with itself. Entirely incapable of stepping outward, of standing outside itself…. It locks its jaws on itself; paradoxically, this leads the self to hollow and empty out. It wears out in a rat race it runs against itself. (Byung-Chul Han, 42). We see this all around us in politics, religion, civic life and business. At a personal level, the achievement culture pushes us to pursue greater recognition whether it’s at work, at play, at church or simply in the stuff we amass. By focusing on achievement, to the detriment of being, we flame out, sometimes in spectacular fashion, other times in a slow, sad smolder. This reality can also be seen in Christ’s church as we, often imperceptibly, shift our focus to quantifiable, external achievements over and above heart-based spiritual growth. As a result, we end up with churches neglecting Spiritual ministry in the pursuit of buildings, budgets, and bottoms…bottoms on seats Sunday mornings, that is. Strangely enough, the early church was not immune to these temptations either. In fact, in Paul’s second letter to the Corinthians, he is writing in response to criticisms of his ministry by those who place the focus on supposed achievements and accolades of men rather than on the Gospel-driven, Spirit-led fruit of genuine heart transformation. Earlier, Paul indicates that those who sought to undermine his ministry pointed to letters of affirmation they carried with them to prove their worth. But Paul indicates that the letters which prove the authenticity of his ministry are not written by men. This is what inspires him to write, “You show that you are a letter from Christ, the result of our ministry, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts.” Here is where we find Paul’s focus, not on human affirmation, but divine transformation; not on quantifiable results, but on changed lives. The truth is, God is more concerned with the process than He is the results, more concerned with our hearts than with our achievements. What is the application for Renton Bible Church? Well, in the midst of a building expansion, it is easy to be over-awed by the beautiful building we are constructing. It is an awesome achievement that moves us to give glory to God. But even more awe-inspiring are the numbers of people, many without great experience or confidence in construction, who are sacrificing weekdays and weekends in order to serve God’s kingdom purposes alongside God’s kingdom people. Even more awe-inspiring than a new sanctuary are those who show that God rules in the sanctuary of their hearts by sacrificing hard-earned wages to further the work of Christ’s kingdom. Of course, the building expansion is only one example. The same could be said regarding the weekly ministries of the church. The wonder of these ministries is not the fact that we have efficient programs, but that we have people willing to sacrificially serve others, willing to partner together with God’s people to further the Gospel, willing to speak into each other’s lives for the sake of heart transformation. The issue, in all of this, is not the things we are doing (construction, AWANA, Life on Life groups) but why we are doing them, who we are doing them for, and how God is working through them. It’s all about Jesus, about His work of transformation on “tablets of human hearts”. May we selflessly and sacrificially let the Spirit of the living God work transformation in us and through us for the sake of His eternal Kingdom and glory. |
Dan GannonDan has ministered at Renton Bible Church, with his wife Debbie, since 2003. Archives
June 2022
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