Untangle, Simplify, Clarify
"Wisdom simplifies, Wisdom clarifies, Wisdom untangles, Wisdom unshackles, Wisdom illuminates. This is the highest expression of wisdom - To live our lives for others rather than ourselves." - Erwin McManus
Jesus said that he came to serve. In Matthew 22:34-40, he taught that the whole of the law can be summed up in two statements. To love the Lord our God with all our hearts, souls, minds and strength and to love our neighbor as ourselves. And this begs the question, “Who is our neighbor?” Christ’s parable about the good samaritan answers this question quite plainly. It is not simply the people who look like us, think like us, love like us, actually like us, invest in us, or build us up. It is anyone and everyone who is breathing and has a pulse. And why? Because every human who has ever lived, and every human who has yet to draw breath in their lungs sometime in the future, is made in the image of God.
Stop and let that sink in for a moment. Every person who has every lived and has yet to be born is made in the Image of God. We are all image bearers. There is something inside every person that points to the divine.
CityHope Church’s mission statement is this:
To lead people from where they are to where God has called them to be, Because we are about Jesus, People, and the Pursuit of Both.
There is a lot going on in this one simple statement. We as disciples, as followers of Christ, as those who have been called and created with God given talents and abilities and a God given purpose (and by the way, EVERY person has been given these things) and who have dropped our nets in response to the awesome nature of the call and the one who has called us, have not simply been called to enjoy the warm comfort of getting to hang out with our Savior.
WE HAVE BEEN CALLED TO BE THE CHURCH, for the sake of the world.
To be salt and light. To be witnesses to the gospel message to the nations. To be the hands and feet of Christ. To GO and to LOVE and to SPEAK the TRUTH in LOVE. We have been called to make disciples. To TEACH them and to BAPTIZE them.
Our call was never ever intended to be a call to a life of passivity. It was never meant to be a call to sit on the sidelines of life. It was also never a call to simply seek the Lord for all of our personal needs, chasing an emotional connection with the end goal being us. Yes it was a personal call, and yet it was never intended to be simply a call to live an isolated cozy life just you and Jesus. It was a call to action, a call to move and be an agent of change in the lives of those whom we have influence with.
As we have found life in Christ we are then compelled to share that with as many other people as we can. This is not something that is for a church service on Sunday’s only. And honestly, not even in a church service primarily. The Bible has a lot to say about wisdom and we as followers of Christ are to be as wise as serpents and innocent as doves. We are to be a people who teach and help lead others toward the truth and wisdom of Christ and the gospel (good news) wherever we are, whenever the opportunity arises. It is called living our lives on purpose with purpose and leading people in and through the ordinary everyday moments of life.
That is why I love the quote that I opened with from Erwin McManus. Because what we have and what we carry (the gospel) is not complicated in any way. It is not a religion of dos and don'ts it is not a list of rules we have to follow in order to earn God’s favor. It is something so simple a child can not only understand it, but in turn teach it to others, and yet at the same time it is as deep and complex as the ocean. Something that we can spend our entire lives pursuing and growing in. It is full of life and beauty.
Jesus himself said Let the little children come to me and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.
For Christ did not send me too baptize, but to preach the gospel - Not with words of human wisdom, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power. For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.
- 1 Corinthians 1:17-18
The world is often confused by Jesus death on the cross, Christianity generally speaking and Christians portrayal of it.
But the worlds misunderstanding of the cross does not absolve us from our call to make disciples and point people toward truth and the power of the gospel message. The beauty of our mission is that no matter where someone in is on their journey, there is room for them to grow in what it is that God wants for their lives. (For that matter, no matter where we are in our journey with Christ there is room for us to grow) The best part is we don’t have to be a preacher or world class communicator to do it. In fact it is better that we aren’t in some ways. We are all on this journey of faith. We call it life, and some of us have been growing in our relationship with Christ for multiple decades and some of us have been on that journey for multiple days or weeks, and some of us still have yet to start the actual journey with Christ but we are still on the road, on our journey of faith, even if it is anti faith. But no matter where on that road the people God has surrounded us with are, or we ourselves are, we are called to LEAD PEOPLE FROM WHERE THEY ARE AT THAT MOMENT.
Someone once said, “Wherever you are, there you are.”
It is simplistically true, and you can't change that, but you can make sure you don’t stay there and that you can move forward from that point. We have been called to help people move forward by pointing people toward Christ and the wisdom that he offers. So we simplify, we clarify, we untangle and unshackle and through it all we illuminate the gospel through the word of God and the power of our testimony.
Just as Christ taught us, and as we read in Erwin’s statement, the highest expression of wisdom is to live our lives for others rather than ourselves. When we pour into others we are representing Christ. When we love others we are being His hands and feet, when we sacrifice for others were are being the church. when we give of our time and talents and abilities we are worshiping the one who gave us those talents, honoring him with our expression of them for the sake of those around us who have yet to know him. And through it all we ourselves are growing and stretching ourselves beyond what we thought possible. In the middle of it all we see that we too are moving from where we are to where God wants us to be.
This is wisdom.
QUESTIONS TO PONDER:
1. What were your thoughts when you read Erwin McManus’s quote? Did you feel inspired, fearful, discouraged, encouraged, confused, or some other emotion? Why do you think you responded this way?
2. How does Erwin’s quote connect to the two greatest commandments that Jesus spoke to the crowd in Matthew 22?
3. How can you love our neighbor as yourself? In what ways can you simplify, clarify, and untangle the gospel message for those God has brought across your path?
4. How does 1 Corinthians 1:17-18 encourage you? Hearing this does it change the way you see your abilities and the call of the great commission in Matthew 28:19-20.
Jesus said that he came to serve. In Matthew 22:34-40, he taught that the whole of the law can be summed up in two statements. To love the Lord our God with all our hearts, souls, minds and strength and to love our neighbor as ourselves. And this begs the question, “Who is our neighbor?” Christ’s parable about the good samaritan answers this question quite plainly. It is not simply the people who look like us, think like us, love like us, actually like us, invest in us, or build us up. It is anyone and everyone who is breathing and has a pulse. And why? Because every human who has ever lived, and every human who has yet to draw breath in their lungs sometime in the future, is made in the image of God.
Stop and let that sink in for a moment. Every person who has every lived and has yet to be born is made in the Image of God. We are all image bearers. There is something inside every person that points to the divine.
CityHope Church’s mission statement is this:
To lead people from where they are to where God has called them to be, Because we are about Jesus, People, and the Pursuit of Both.
There is a lot going on in this one simple statement. We as disciples, as followers of Christ, as those who have been called and created with God given talents and abilities and a God given purpose (and by the way, EVERY person has been given these things) and who have dropped our nets in response to the awesome nature of the call and the one who has called us, have not simply been called to enjoy the warm comfort of getting to hang out with our Savior.
WE HAVE BEEN CALLED TO BE THE CHURCH, for the sake of the world.
To be salt and light. To be witnesses to the gospel message to the nations. To be the hands and feet of Christ. To GO and to LOVE and to SPEAK the TRUTH in LOVE. We have been called to make disciples. To TEACH them and to BAPTIZE them.
Our call was never ever intended to be a call to a life of passivity. It was never meant to be a call to sit on the sidelines of life. It was also never a call to simply seek the Lord for all of our personal needs, chasing an emotional connection with the end goal being us. Yes it was a personal call, and yet it was never intended to be simply a call to live an isolated cozy life just you and Jesus. It was a call to action, a call to move and be an agent of change in the lives of those whom we have influence with.
As we have found life in Christ we are then compelled to share that with as many other people as we can. This is not something that is for a church service on Sunday’s only. And honestly, not even in a church service primarily. The Bible has a lot to say about wisdom and we as followers of Christ are to be as wise as serpents and innocent as doves. We are to be a people who teach and help lead others toward the truth and wisdom of Christ and the gospel (good news) wherever we are, whenever the opportunity arises. It is called living our lives on purpose with purpose and leading people in and through the ordinary everyday moments of life.
That is why I love the quote that I opened with from Erwin McManus. Because what we have and what we carry (the gospel) is not complicated in any way. It is not a religion of dos and don'ts it is not a list of rules we have to follow in order to earn God’s favor. It is something so simple a child can not only understand it, but in turn teach it to others, and yet at the same time it is as deep and complex as the ocean. Something that we can spend our entire lives pursuing and growing in. It is full of life and beauty.
Jesus himself said Let the little children come to me and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.
For Christ did not send me too baptize, but to preach the gospel - Not with words of human wisdom, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power. For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.
- 1 Corinthians 1:17-18
The world is often confused by Jesus death on the cross, Christianity generally speaking and Christians portrayal of it.
But the worlds misunderstanding of the cross does not absolve us from our call to make disciples and point people toward truth and the power of the gospel message. The beauty of our mission is that no matter where someone in is on their journey, there is room for them to grow in what it is that God wants for their lives. (For that matter, no matter where we are in our journey with Christ there is room for us to grow) The best part is we don’t have to be a preacher or world class communicator to do it. In fact it is better that we aren’t in some ways. We are all on this journey of faith. We call it life, and some of us have been growing in our relationship with Christ for multiple decades and some of us have been on that journey for multiple days or weeks, and some of us still have yet to start the actual journey with Christ but we are still on the road, on our journey of faith, even if it is anti faith. But no matter where on that road the people God has surrounded us with are, or we ourselves are, we are called to LEAD PEOPLE FROM WHERE THEY ARE AT THAT MOMENT.
Someone once said, “Wherever you are, there you are.”
It is simplistically true, and you can't change that, but you can make sure you don’t stay there and that you can move forward from that point. We have been called to help people move forward by pointing people toward Christ and the wisdom that he offers. So we simplify, we clarify, we untangle and unshackle and through it all we illuminate the gospel through the word of God and the power of our testimony.
Just as Christ taught us, and as we read in Erwin’s statement, the highest expression of wisdom is to live our lives for others rather than ourselves. When we pour into others we are representing Christ. When we love others we are being His hands and feet, when we sacrifice for others were are being the church. when we give of our time and talents and abilities we are worshiping the one who gave us those talents, honoring him with our expression of them for the sake of those around us who have yet to know him. And through it all we ourselves are growing and stretching ourselves beyond what we thought possible. In the middle of it all we see that we too are moving from where we are to where God wants us to be.
This is wisdom.
QUESTIONS TO PONDER:
1. What were your thoughts when you read Erwin McManus’s quote? Did you feel inspired, fearful, discouraged, encouraged, confused, or some other emotion? Why do you think you responded this way?
2. How does Erwin’s quote connect to the two greatest commandments that Jesus spoke to the crowd in Matthew 22?
3. How can you love our neighbor as yourself? In what ways can you simplify, clarify, and untangle the gospel message for those God has brought across your path?
4. How does 1 Corinthians 1:17-18 encourage you? Hearing this does it change the way you see your abilities and the call of the great commission in Matthew 28:19-20.
No Comments