I am who I am. I am the way I am because I had intentional parents. They didn’t simply provide for my needs, but they took time to shape my character, to discipline, and encourage. They were intentional in what they were doing knowing that every opportunity they had with me was an opportunity for investment. As I grew older, my parents influence in my life gradually got smaller and I was molded by different people…my friends. I have a great group of friends. They are GOOD friends because we can spend time together, cut jokes, and tease each other on the basketball court; They are GREAT friends because they are intentional friends. They care about my spiritual life, they care about my character, and they hold my feet to the fire. They invest in my life and I in theirs. We are all better for it.
Jesus worked the same way. He was always intentional in what he said, never flippant. Never idle. Always looking for a way to shape someone. Always investing. He was the master at holding peoples feet to the fire. He was the great encourager. He was immersed in the culture of the day and used it to draw people to himself.
As individual believers, and together as churches, this is how we should live! The truth is, we are always intentional, but WHAT we are intentional about? We have two choices; we can be intentional about others or about ourselves. My Pastor recently put it this way “most of the world is in survival mode, they are just trying to survive day to day…in America, we are in success mode. We spend our time thinking about how we can make ourselves more comfortable than we were the day before.”
Don’t get me wrong, I like being comfortable, but the downside of comfort is that it lulls us to sleep. It numbs our senses and slowly blinds us to real needs and the bigger story of the Gospel. Its easy to post a hashtag on social media about a cause, its a whole lot harder to actually live it out.
My wife and I recently had a conversation about this very thing. We say this phrase often in our home…we want to live the bigger story. What we have come to realize in our own lives is that we often times want to TELL a bigger story. We don’t always want to LIVE one. We have to constantly remind ourselves that being intentional about the Gospel means you push yourself out of, well, thinking about yourself. That it means you have to make commitments, invest, and work hard. Living a bigger story always costs you, but it is so worth it when that bigger story is the Gospel!
It is this vision that we strive to bring to churches. It is the idea that missions is so much more than visiting a foreign country, taking pictures, holding children, and putting together a flashy highlight reel. Its about intentionally partnering with believers in those countries to further God’s kingdom. Its about investing for the long haul, building genuine relationships, and using every opportunity to encourage and equip believers. Its about telling unbelievers about Jesus and the hope that He brings, and investing to make the work more impactful, more meaningful, to make Jesus come to life for an entire community. It will cost, but the church and mission will both be better for it.
How about you? How about your church? Are you ready to take the next step? Are you ready to move towards a committed, intentional, partnership? We are here to help, let us know and we will walk with you every step of the way.
