Monday, March 03, 2014

Called to Lead

There are many reasons to answer God's call. The first might be very clear to you if you think about the events of world history and then look around at our society today... We are the connection to the next generation of Christians! Every generation is responsible to reach the next generation with the Gospel of Jesus Christ.


from: http://teachersjourneytolife.blogspot.com
We know that Christianity has been a huge movement that has impacted billions with the blessings of modern society. Most of the advances in science, medicine, social work, music, education, government and many other areas of study are based on the premise that there is an absolute Truth and an order to our universe because of our Creator God. Even many of the most notable advances in these areas were made by people who understood this premise of Truth and acted out of Christian love. God has made our universe for a purpose and we have the capacity to discover the laws of nature and understand how things work - there is no randomness or purposeless activity in God's Creation. We also see that Christianity focuses on the dignity of human life, whether you are female, from another race, unborn, poor, sick, old or disabled, each person has value and potential for a meaningful and fulfilling life. Of course this has not always been practiced, but it is the reality of Biblical teaching and Jesus teaching, life and death in payment for our sin.
As Christianity spread through Europe, Europe became the center of faith and the base for spreading the Gospel to the rest of the world. America took its turn and now east Asia, even with countries dominated by Communism and religious persecution, is the center of the missionary movement. How can this be? Because the real Truth of the Gospel is a living hope and freedom that brings dignity and purpose to human life. God has shown His love to us in the giving of His Son in our place to restore an eternal relationship with those who previously rejected Him. (See Ephesians 2!)

So even though Europe had been the center of Christianity, it eventually became spiritually dead and did not teach grace or forgiveness but a social conformity to religious rules. So we see the result of that in modern society: knowledge without wisdom, good deeds without love, things without thankfulness, health without happiness, leaders without values, ethics without morality, social programs without sacrifice, relationship without commitment, even religion without Jesus!

But true Christianity does exist and it does not depend on us; it depends on the reality of God and His gift in Jesus Christ! God will use people to be a part of His plan to reach everyone but I must choose to be a part of it. I want to answer His call to live in such a way that others can understand His love and want a restored relationship with Him. We must become students of Christian leadership because there is a world we must lead to the foot of the cross of Jesus. (This comes from my post on another of my blogs: christ-like-leaders.blogspot.com)