A Mission To Make A Difference

“And don’t forget to do good and to share with those in need. These are the sacrifices that please God.” – Hebrews 13:16

The gospel is about life and transformation. When we accept Jesus as Lord and Savior, we are transformed and have the power to transform the world in which we live. The amazing mystery of God is that He has chosen to fulfill His plan through His Church – ordinary people who can do extraordinary things through the power of God. “We now have this light shining in our hearts, but we ourselves are like fragile clay jars containing this great treasure. This makes it clear that our great power is from God, not from ourselves.” (2 Corinthians 4:7)

God is looking for people who will make a difference in His kingdom. He is not looking for those who have wealth, He is not looking for those who have dynamic personalities, He is not looking for people with great social backgrounds. God is looking for people who He can use. He is looking for people that want to make a contribution.

To make a contribution means we cannot simply be spectators. The gospel of Jesus Christ should inspire us to take action, to get involved. I don’t think God ever intended the pews or chairs in church to be padded. Our lives should consist of a whole lot of action verbs like go, speak, pray, etc. But too often we leave things to God. 2 Timothy 1:7 says, “For God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love, and self-discipline.” God did not design us to be static or paralyzed.

In Luke 22:39-46, Jesus is spending hours in prayer. Something terrible was going to happen. Jesus knew it. In fact this is His final act, before He is arrested, tried, and put to death. “Father, if you are willing, please take this cup of suffering away from me. Yet I want your will to be done, not mine….He prayed more fervently, and he was in such agony of spirit that his sweat fell to the ground like great drops of blood.” (Luke 22:42,44) Soon the Son of God walked the rocky road to Calvary.

Jesus so loved the world that He did something. He made Himself nothing for us. He obeyed His Father and He went to the cross. It was no easy task. He was beaten and broken. He was crucified. This was the single greatest contribution in the history of the world. But what if Jesus prayed about going to the cross, but never went? What if churches opted to meet every Sunday, but never to take the gospel outside the walls? What if nobody volunteered to serve at church? What if parents only prayed their children would follow the Lord, but you never did anything to train them?

Nothing much happens in any walk of life until somebody gets involved, until somebody makes a contribution.

Discussion Questions:

How do you define getting involved? How do you define making contributions to the Kingdom?
How much time do you typically invest in serving the church on a weekly/monthly basis?
What area is God pushing you to serve in the church?