October 23rd, 2024
by Jacob Hess
by Jacob Hess
I love Jeni’s Splendid Ice Cream. The flavors are rich and varied, the cream is silky-smooth, and they let you take as many samples as you want! Anyone who knows me well, knows I like Jeni’s because I can’t stop telling people how GOOD it is! The same goes for a lot of things in my life. If I like something I really want people to know about it. I think this is true for many of us. We use bumper stickers, yard signs, or even the clothes we wear to show the world what we love. Why do we do this? I believe it taps into something innate about being human.
The Mission
In Genesis chapter one we see that God makes humankind in His image:
So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them. And God blessed them. And God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth.” (Gen. 1:27-28)
What does it mean to be an image-of-God creature? We see it in the passage: God made us to represent Him before all creation. Out of His kindness and generosity, God chose to create creatures who share in His rule, joining Him in pushing back the forces of chaos and darkness to replace all with order and light. In a sense, we were meant to be God’s spokesmen before creation, declaring His goodness and glory and ordering things accordingly. The mission Jesus gave the church is no different. Just before He ascended to His Father’s side, Jesus commanded us to make disciples (Matt 28:19-20). The mission is simple enough. MAKE DISCIPLES. But what is a disciple?
To find the answer to that question all you have to do is go back to Genesis one. We were made to be God’s representatives. But then comes Genesis three and we see that instead of obeying God and taking up the mission He gave us, we chose to rebel against Him and live for ourselves. This rebellion didn’t undo the fact that we are image-of-God creatures, but it did mare and warp God’s good world; As goes the rulers, so goes the kingdom. In Jesus, though, the mission is restored! Jesus lived as the perfect Image of God, fulfilling God’s design for humankind by living as His representative in every way. And in His death He paid the price for our rebellion.
When we are united to Christ by grace through faith, we are called back into our original purpose, which now looks like imaging Christ in all of life (Gal 2:20; Rom 8:29). In Jesus, God is restoring His broken world, and the church joins in that work by making more disciples, more people who accept Jesus as Lord and Savior and then go out into the world looking like Jesus wherever God sends them.
The Means
Isn’t it easy to lose sight of this important mission? How often do we meditate on the fact that God wants to use us as His representatives? Maybe you’re like me and it’s really easy to talk about your favorite ice, but you struggle to share your faith. Do people know more about your favorite movies or political affiliation than they do your Savior? If the mission is to make more Jesus followers who can go out into the world and image Him in all of life, then we need to start by telling more people about Jesus!
With more and more people in the West growing up with little to no affiliation to the ministries of a local church, Jesus followers like you–more now than ever–must bring the good news into your home, your neighborhood, and your work place not only with actions that model the way of Jesus, but with words that tell His story.
I know this is not always easy. It can be scary to share your faith with others when it is such an intimate and central part of your life. When people reject the gospel, it can feel a lot like they are rejecting us too. And sometimes they are. So, how do we do it? Well, God hasn’t left this work to us alone. In Matthew 28:20 Jesus gives us a wonderful promise:
“And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”
We can join God in His mission to set this world right because Jesus goes before us and lives within us by His Spirit. So, in this month dedicated to prayer, I want to challenge you to begin the scary work of evangelism with prayer. If it’s difficult to talk about your faith with a neighbor or coworker, just start praying for him or her daily, weekly, and see the ways in which God will go before you and with you.
The Mission
In Genesis chapter one we see that God makes humankind in His image:
So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them. And God blessed them. And God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth.” (Gen. 1:27-28)
What does it mean to be an image-of-God creature? We see it in the passage: God made us to represent Him before all creation. Out of His kindness and generosity, God chose to create creatures who share in His rule, joining Him in pushing back the forces of chaos and darkness to replace all with order and light. In a sense, we were meant to be God’s spokesmen before creation, declaring His goodness and glory and ordering things accordingly. The mission Jesus gave the church is no different. Just before He ascended to His Father’s side, Jesus commanded us to make disciples (Matt 28:19-20). The mission is simple enough. MAKE DISCIPLES. But what is a disciple?
To find the answer to that question all you have to do is go back to Genesis one. We were made to be God’s representatives. But then comes Genesis three and we see that instead of obeying God and taking up the mission He gave us, we chose to rebel against Him and live for ourselves. This rebellion didn’t undo the fact that we are image-of-God creatures, but it did mare and warp God’s good world; As goes the rulers, so goes the kingdom. In Jesus, though, the mission is restored! Jesus lived as the perfect Image of God, fulfilling God’s design for humankind by living as His representative in every way. And in His death He paid the price for our rebellion.
When we are united to Christ by grace through faith, we are called back into our original purpose, which now looks like imaging Christ in all of life (Gal 2:20; Rom 8:29). In Jesus, God is restoring His broken world, and the church joins in that work by making more disciples, more people who accept Jesus as Lord and Savior and then go out into the world looking like Jesus wherever God sends them.
The Means
Isn’t it easy to lose sight of this important mission? How often do we meditate on the fact that God wants to use us as His representatives? Maybe you’re like me and it’s really easy to talk about your favorite ice, but you struggle to share your faith. Do people know more about your favorite movies or political affiliation than they do your Savior? If the mission is to make more Jesus followers who can go out into the world and image Him in all of life, then we need to start by telling more people about Jesus!
With more and more people in the West growing up with little to no affiliation to the ministries of a local church, Jesus followers like you–more now than ever–must bring the good news into your home, your neighborhood, and your work place not only with actions that model the way of Jesus, but with words that tell His story.
I know this is not always easy. It can be scary to share your faith with others when it is such an intimate and central part of your life. When people reject the gospel, it can feel a lot like they are rejecting us too. And sometimes they are. So, how do we do it? Well, God hasn’t left this work to us alone. In Matthew 28:20 Jesus gives us a wonderful promise:
“And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”
We can join God in His mission to set this world right because Jesus goes before us and lives within us by His Spirit. So, in this month dedicated to prayer, I want to challenge you to begin the scary work of evangelism with prayer. If it’s difficult to talk about your faith with a neighbor or coworker, just start praying for him or her daily, weekly, and see the ways in which God will go before you and with you.
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Ice cream: The symphony of flavors dancing on my tongue.