Do What We Were Created to Do

Song birds were created to sing, so they sing. Honey bees were created to make honey, so they make honey. The natural thing for a beaver to do is to make dams, so they make dams. Every creature was created to do something unique to their species. All humans were created to have fellowship with God. Although we are gifted differently and have different talents, we all share one common purpose. Our common purpose is to love God with all of our hearts, our minds and our souls. We show our love for him by telling others about him, and about his love for them.

One day early in his ministry, Jesus got up and went to a solitary place very early in the morning. Probably before he had had his coffee. There were some people who had heard him teach and had seen him cast a demon out of a man. They were amazed at his power and his authority over evil spirits. These people wanted to hear more of his teaching, and see him do more miraculous acts. They somehow found him out in the middle of nowhere, and they were determined that he was going to stay with them. Dr. Luke said that the people tried their best to keep him from leaving. But Jesus said, “I must proclaim the good news of the kingdom of God to the other towns also, because that is why I was sent.” Luke 4:43

His message to us is good news, great news, the Gospel. No one has ever had better news for us! Jesus said, “That is the reason I was sent to earth.” As his followers, as his disciples we are to continue to do what Jesus came to do. How important do you think his mission on earth was to him? It was so important that he died to make it real. It was so important that he spent three years with a few ill equipped, hard headed, misfits to teach them about his mission. It was so important that the last thing he told them was that they would receive power when the Holy Spirit came upon them, and that they would be witnesses in Jerusalem, and in Judea and Samaria and to the ends of the earth.

These first disciples took Jesus seriously. They began telling others about Jesus death and resurrection, the Good News. The Good News spread like wildfire. That command from Jesus is just as important today as it was over 2,000 years ago. Across the world thousand are coming to know Jesus as Savior every day, except in America. Baptisms in America are declining every year. Churches are closing their doors at an unbelievable rate. An astonishing number of churches don’t record even one convert in an entire year. You would think that the pastor, a deacon, elder or a Sunday school teacher would win somebody to Jesus. Few people in our Baptist Churches, and I refer to the Baptist because that’s what I am, make it a priority to share the Gospel.

We do a great job ministering to our own people, those who are like us. We do a wonderful job having prayer meetings, and home group meetings, seminars, potluck meals, fellowship get togethers, and about any kind of meeting you can imagine. But we don’t do very well at doing the one thing that Jesus told us to do. We even do a pretty good job sending a few of our members to other countries on short term mission trips, and maybe some share the gospel there. Why do we get so excited and pat ourselves on our backs when we won’t even walk down the street to tell someone that Jesus loved them so much he died for them? Many churches are praying that God will send a great spiritual awakening to America. That would be great. But I don’t think God will do that until Christians in American churches  begin doing what Jesus told us to do in the first place.

Christians became Christians in order that they would make disciples. As the song birds, the honey bees and the beavers do what is natural for them to do, we should do what should be natural for us because Jesus loved us enough to die for us and commanded us to continue his work here in this world, especially in our own Jerusalem.