A few weeks ago, I was spending some great quality time with a couple of my grandchildren. (I have twenty-five, and one great grandchild, and I promise that I am bragging, not complaining.) And if you must know, that great quality time was on the golf course. I was winning favor with snacks and hugs and driving lessons on the golf cart, and the laughter and joy was infectious. I can’t remember how well I was playing that day, but I went home with a warm, fuzzy feeling about my amazing grandchildren.
The next morning, I was having my “habitual” prayer time with my wife, Polly, and was telling God once again that if I was to be his eyes and ears, and hands and feet on this earth, then I was reporting once again that Satan has had long enough to inflict his pain and suffering on people. It has been long enough for the strong to take advantage of the weak, the rich to abuse the poor, and the isolated and lonely to be taken advantage of by those that could, just because they wanted to.
Maturity is coming to understand the wisdom of the ways of God, and the pure delight of making a total surrender to Jesus every day.
Suddenly, I was brought up short, as it seemed to me that God was reminding me of my delightful time with my grandchildren. “Do you wish I had come back years ago when you were asking for this? Even before those precious grandchildren got here?” I felt some chagrin and admitted, “No, I’m most grateful that you have waited this long. I would hate to have missed out on these delightful relationships!” And then I began to think of the fact that God sees every single person who, in the future, will come to him, love him and serve him, and bring him pure delight. I repented for my narrow-minded view and purposed again to do better at telling people the story of Jesus and inviting people to come and enjoy God’s favor and love and forgiveness.
CMC has been encouraging us as individuals and churches to have a mature and multiply focus. This is a focus that resonates deeply with me. To me, maturity is coming to understand the wisdom of the ways of God, and the pure delight of making a total surrender to Jesus every day. Maturity is giving God everything daily and letting him be the owner, defender, protector, provider of all that I might have foolishly considered my own at one time in my life. Maturity is relaxing and resting as God opens doors, brings me opportunities to share Jesus, and gives me favor in that sharing.
I am convinced multiplication will be a natural byproduct of that kind of maturity. Many more people will come to Jesus, many more will be incorporated into our churches and our own lives. Many more people will live in victory, and our faith will be contagious.
I love the promise of Jesus, when he said, “I will build my church; and the gates of hell will not prevail against it!” (Matt. 16:18 KJV). When I was a young Christian, and read that promise, I saw the church inside a safe place with walls and gates. I saw Satan prowling around on the outside, but unable to break the locks and get in. We would be safe as long as we were “inside.”
But later I realized that picture is totally wrong. The picture is one where Satan has people in prison, totally deceived and in chains, bound and shackled by strongholds too strong to get out of. But then Jesus comes, and he opens the prison doors, binds up the guards, takes off the chains, and prisoners go free, excited and delighted.
While it is true that Satan still does have many people in chains, and many are still shut away deeply into prisons of addiction and sin patterns that have been in place for many years, also true is the fact that all over the world we are seeing many that are coming out of those chains and are walking in freedom because of the amazing grace of Jesus. They are finding out that God’s promises are true, and “if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation” (2 Cor 5:17 NKJV). Old things are gone, and all things are made new. Personally, I believe these deliverances are happening more than any time in the history of the world. Maybe not in percentages, but surely in numbers.
What our God is doing is nothing short of remarkable. Let’s not miss out on the opportunities to be part of this great work that God is doing. Let him give us new and creative ways to share Jesus every day!
One Response
Mark, your story comparing your joy in relationships with your grandchildren to God’s joy in his relationships with His children is poignant. I will still pray, “Even so, come Lord Jesus!” While we wait for that day, may we also be about the unfinished task of proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom to every people group that has not yet heard.