Expend Every Energy
In an earlier blog, “Is Self-improvement Holy Work?”, I wrote about making resolutions and setting goals. What does it mean to do worldly “self-improvement” in a way that honors Christ? It left off on a cliff-hanger: How can we pick goals that are in line with God’s priorities?
The Bible is full of guidance on this topic.
First, there’s Christ’s command to the apostles, the Great Commission:
And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” (Matthew 28:18-20 ESV)
We—every member of the Christian Church—inherited this command and its associated promise since we are members of the Body of Christ, the Church. Christ commissioned each one of us to this responsibility.
In Revelation, John was given a peek into heaven. What is waiting for God’s people after history is done?
After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands, and crying out with a loud voice, “Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!” (Revelation 7:9-10 ESV)
That’s the Lord’s goal: People from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages! A great multitude! All of us, gathered together, proclaiming the glory of the Lamb who brought us there. God has determined that this will happen, and God will accomplish all his holy will.
Young sums it up like this:
. . .this is our calling, the task of Christ’s Church for this age. . .We are to bend every effort, expend every energy, and make every sacrifice for the spread of the gospel to every nation and tongue. (John M. L. Young, Missions: The Biblical Motive and Aim)
I myself am not a missionary living in a foreign land engaged in cross-cultural gospel work. Chances are you aren’t either. Are we disobeying God in the Great Commission simply because we’re “here,” not “there?” Not necessarily, because God gave us all different roles in the Body of Christ.
Remember the lesson in 1 Corinthians 12:14-20:
For the body does not consist of one member but of many. If the foot should say, “Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,” that would not make it any less a part of the body. And if the ear should say, “Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body,” that would not make it any less a part of the body. If the whole body were an eye, where would be the sense of hearing? If the whole body were an ear, where would be the sense of smell? But as it is, God arranged the members in the body, each one of them, as he chose. If all were a single member, where would the body be? As it is, there are many parts, yet one body.
If everyone was called to go to foreign fields and labor as evangelists, pastors, and church planters, it would be as silly as lungs trying to be feet, shoulders trying to walk, ears trying to be legs. Not everyone in the Body of Christ gets to be the beautiful feet, the bringers of good news to the nations! If you’re not appointed to be a go-er, then you’re to be a supporter.
My fellow supporters, let’s “bend every effort, expend every energy, and make every sacrifice for the spread of the gospel to every nation and tongue.” Let’s commit ourselves (all in!) to the task of supporting missions. Let’s do our appointed work as skillfully and energetically as we can. Let’s mobilize fellow supporters, make plans to pass the work on to the next generation, imagine new fields and frontiers, and trust God to use our time, energy, focus as he ordains. Let’s work together in order to bring all God’s children home to heaven.
Krista lives in Colorado Springs with her godly husband and two teenage sons. She savors language and enjoys the many ways simple words can be crafted—from literature, to clever puns and silly dad jokes, to deep-diving discussions of grammar and linguistics. (Favorite poem: Prayers of Steel by Carl Sandburg; How can you tell when a joke is grown up? When it becomes apparent; Dependable small-talk topic: favorite part of speech.)