A simple yet profound witness

I was preparing to teach when I ran across some powerful quotes from Mother Teresa. Her words prompted this post. 

I am spending the month of January with a focus on our witness to the world. I’ve always appreciated a strong biblical sermon or lesson that teaches God’s word. But, I’ve also heard a lot of sermons and lessons that never used words at all. 

I teach the Bible because I believe that God’s word is pure and perfect truth. Our world is full of information and opinions, all of which need to be examined by the pure light of God’s word. 

I had the privilege of hearing Mother Teresa at the National Prayer Breakfast in 1994. Her message was clear, her delivery was straightforward, and it was filled with the truth of Scripture. I remember watching Bill Clinton’s face as she turned to him and said, “Give me the babies.” She had no problem addressing the topic of abortion with a president who condoned it. 

Mother Teresa lived with a simple, profound witness that was grounded and guided by God’s word. I thought her words could teach us today. 

What is an extraordinary witness?

Mother Teresa had an extraordinary witness to the world. If you take the time to read my blog, I assume you are interested in living with a strong witness for Christ too. I hope Mother Teresa’s words will impress your heart as they did mine. She said: 

“Do not think that love in order to be genuine has to be extraordinary. What we need is to love without getting tired. Be faithful in small things because it is in them that your strength lies.” 

Our culture tends to look for those who have a “big” witness. Maybe they lead a large congregation or hold popular events in a convention hall or arena or write best-selling books. But, for most of us, God considers our witness to be the accumulation of one small act of love after another. Spiritual strength is like physical exercise: it is the small things we do, the repetitions, that truly build our spiritual muscle and expand our witness. 

Paul told the church in Galatia, “And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up” (Galatians 6:9). 

How would it change your day if you lived as Paul and Mother Teresa encouraged? 

How many “small things” can your genuine faith and love accomplish today? 

What will your witness and influence accomplish by the end of the week? Month? Year? 

In my experience, it is the small things, accumulated over time, that bring about the most permanent change. We need to love consistently without getting tired and be continually faithful in the small things. 

The famine in America

There is a lot in the news right now about the higher prices, the smaller workforce, and the increased spending from our leadership. It is difficult to watch the news and avoid feeling overburdened in some way. It’s easy to want to withdraw from the culture and just spend time with the people who think like we do. 

Mother Teresa helped feed people who were dying of malnutrition, disease, and starvation. We well remember the pictures of the children who were literally skin and bones. That is rarely the picture of our “poor.” Prosperity and poverty have many definitions. 

I did my best to find the setting of this quote from Mother Teresa. She said words like this when she received a Nobel Peace Prize and in her book, A Simple Path. But, at some point she spoke about the poverty of America’s culture when she said: 

“There is a famine in America. Not a famine of food, but of love, of truth, of life.” 

I have mentioned before that Hosea 4:6 is what motivates my teaching. In many ways, I feel like God’s words to Hosea should remind all of us, especially those of us in ministry, why Jesus told us to “go and make disciples” in this world. 

God told Hosea, “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge; because you have rejected knowledge, I reject you from being a priest to me. And since you have forgotten the law of your God, I also will forget your children” (Hosea 4:6).  

I’ve been hearing a lot of people complaining about the directions in our culture. One of those voices has been my own. But we have the answer. When people do not know God, when they reject God’s biblical truth, then he cannot have an influence in their lives. And God has said he will have to reject those people who reject his Son. 

Mother Teresa was right to say “there is a famine in America.” Our famine is about spiritual “food.” Our people are destroyed for lack of knowledge too. Those of us who own God’s word and don’t share it with love are fueling the famine. 

A simple place to begin

Mother Teresa said, “If you can’t feed one hundred people, feed one.” 

All of us have a witness, and all of us can go and make disciples. The Holy Spirit is our guide, our voice, and our strength. God’s word and his genuine love indwell every Christian. We can go and make disciples.  

I want to share one last quote from Mother Teresa because none of us should ever feel unable to be a witness for Christ. None of us should ever feel like we have an excuse either! Mother Teresa said:  

“Kind words can be short and easy to speak, but their echoes are truly endless.” 

As I type these words, I am praying that the “ripple effects” of this blog post might be felt around our country. Will you pray with me to that end? Mother Teresa’s witness has been “endless,” and there is no reason why ours should be any different. 

Jesus said, “You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden” (Matthew 5:14). May all of us be shining examples of those who walk with Christ and therefore make him known to others.

Don’t Forget God’s Valentine

Most of us will celebrate and honor the people we love this week. But let’s remember to honor the One who created the concept. God is love (1 John 4:8). He deserves our first and highest commitment of love.

Jesus told us that loving God was the most important commandment (Luke 10:27), and then added that we should love others as we love ourselves. I’ve often taught that the love we have for others is generated by the love we have for God.

But what would you answer if someone were to ask you “How do I love God?”

God is love

God is love, and we are created in his image. Human beings were given the unique ability to make choices because, without that gift, we couldn’t choose to love. Unfortunately, the ability to choose is also what grants us the ability to sin. And God created us with free wills anyway. That one fact tells us how important love is to God.

But, how do we choose to love God? Why do we need to make that choice?

God doesn’t need our love. He wants our love. God wants us to delight in him.

God is delight-ful

What delights you?

I am delighted to my core when my grandson runs to the front door and I hear him say, “Grandma, Grandma’s here!” When I know my family is safely home after a trip, I am delighted by that news. When I hear that someone is “cancer-free,” I am delighted with joy.

Psalm 37:4 tells us, “Delight yourself in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart.” Do I get a sense of delight when I consider the holy love of God that has been poured into my life? Absolutely . . . but how often do I take the time to delight in God and receive his blessings?

We should take some time this week to turn off the world and fellowship with the love of our life—the God who created and is that love.

Love isn’t what we do

Where did we get the idea that love = doing something?

This week, millions of flowers will be sold, reservations made, and cards purchased. Don’t get me wrong: if you have a Valentine, you probably need to “do” something about that.

But, is loving God simply about what we do?

Jesus said, “If you love me you will keep my commandments” (John 14:15). Jesus did not say, “If you keep my commandments, that means you love me.” That’s why Jesus had such a hard time with the Pharisees. They missed that point entirely!

Obedience is a natural result of loving God, but it isn’t how we love God. The cards, roses, reservations, and boxes of candy that will be purchased this week aren’t love. They are expressions of love. What someone does out of a sense of “duty” isn’t the same as what someone does out of their sense of love.

And God knows our hearts.

Love is what we choose to become

How do we become a person who loves God?

Make that choice. You were created in God’s image with the ability to love. Jesus said loving God is our highest commandment. Choose to love God with a powerful, faithful, unwavering commitment. When you make that choice, God will fill you with the desire to love others.

Become a person who truly, devotedly loves God and the rest of your life will reflect that choice. Max Lucado said, “You change your life by changing your heart.”

Jesus taught us how to love God when he taught us how to pray by saying “Our Father.” Become the loving child of the Creator God and you will love your Abba. Allow your primary identity to be as his adopted, loved child. Imagine his delight when you run to the door of heaven, shouting his name with joy.

As you give valentines this week, make the choice to include your highest expressions of love! God will be delighted to return the love you give.

“What no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart of man imagined,
what God has prepared for those who love him.” —1 Corinthians 2:9

God’s Grading System

I just finished a great book by Larry Osborne titled Mission Creep: The Five Subtle Shifts That Sabotage Evangelism & Discipleship.

I marked that book up! It is underlined, starred, and, in several spots, I just wrote “WOW” or “Yes.” (I’m lending my copy to a friend, so I didn’t write “oops” and “uh-oh” by the truths I fall short of.)

That book said so many things I have believed, taught, written about, or debated—and often not lived up to myself. It’s good to read a book that resonates with your spirit and important to read books that insist Christians aim at the right target.

Here’s one startling truth I learned: God gives every Christian an A but wants us to work for an F.

Yes, you read that correctly.

What kind of student were you?

Did you look forward to report card day, or did you dread it?

If you’re like me, you probably did a little of both.

Grades matter, but only if they help us know how to improve. As a schoolteacher, I sometimes had to give a lower grade than I wanted to. I always worried that a child would think This is who I am instead of This is who I should work to be. Sometimes I wanted to wrap my arms around a child and tell them how much that C in math didn’t matter.

The world’s standards of success

We got used to grades early in our lives, and most of us have carried the concept of a grading system since then. Our resumes were put into stacks. The A stack received interviews. The B stack might be considered for other jobs. The C stack got a nice form letter thanking them for applying. Everyone else’s resume went into the shredder.

The football team has an A team, a B team, and a bunch of benchwarmers who get a jersey but little playing time. There are corner offices and cubicles at the office. There are preferred accounts at the bank and those that get charged a monthly fee. There are neighborhoods with bars on the windows and others with guards at the gate.

And, if we aren’t careful, Christians grade other Christians with the world’s standards of success instead of God’s.

What does God’s grading system look like?

The great joy of our faith is also the great weakness.

All of us know that we earned an A grade the minute we professed our faith. But, a lot of Christians settle for the A when they should have been trying to earn a D. We have been aiming for the wrong grade. As a result, the numbers and commitment levels in our churches are declining.

  • A = acceptance. The minute you became a Christian, God gave you that A. Jesus said, “And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age” (Matthew 28:20). But God has a different grading system than the world does. The next step is to earn the B.
  • B = biblical. Jesus said to obey “everything that I have commanded” (Matthew 28:20). Jesus used the word everything for a reason. Unless you believe every command of Scripture, you can’t earn the higher grade. All of us should want to get that C.
  • C = cooperative. God gave us his Holy Spirit so we could communicate, commiserate, and cooperate with God’s holy presence in our lives. The Holy Spirit will never contradict God’s biblical teaching. Jesus said we are baptized “in the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit” (Matthew 28:19). The Christian who earns a C is the Christian who walks with the power of God’s word, guided by his Spirit. That kind of spiritual journey earns us the next grade.
  • D = disciple. Jesus said to his disciples, “Therefore, go and make disciples of all nations” (Matthew 28:19). It isn’t difficult to know if you are earning that coveted D from God. Disciples make disciples. Who is going to heaven, closer to God, stronger in the Lord, or more committed to their calling because you are a disciple of Christ who makes disciples of others?
  • F = Finished. Of course, the highest grade any of us will ever earn is that F. All of us should wish for the moment we are able to bow our heads and echo Jesus saying, “It is finished,” meaning, “God, I did what you commissioned and gifted my life to accomplish. I have been your disciple.”

The problem with Christianity in America is that most people just want the A.

As a result, that is the grade most of us have settled for in our lives and in the lives of those around us. We interpret the Great Commission backward. We’ve become content with an A and acceptance is only the beginning.

Jesus said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age” (Matthew 28:18–20).

The hope of failure

Jesus told us to work for the D because, one day, we will get handed an F. In God’s grading system, an F means we have passed with flying colors.

I wonder if that is what Jesus meant when he said, “So the last will be first, and the first will be last” (Matthew 20:16). I think it’s what God meant when he told Isaiah, “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways” (Isaiah 55:8). We don’t think like God; therefore, we are content with that A.

But God is looking forward to handing us that F. Let’s make sure we have earned the D first. Make sure you are clawing your way to the bottom. That’s where you will find the other disciples at work: with Jesus.

“Well done, good and faithful servant” can be translated: “You earned the F!”