Hearing the Music

Seeing Christ in Others

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Does it ever make you feel awkward to give other people genuine, heartfelt compliments that go beyond surface level? We’re often afraid that it would come across as cheesy, or brown-nosing, or that it might lead the person to become prideful. But what if there was a way to compliment others that actually was glorifying to God?

For the last few weeks I have been taking a continuing education class on pastoral counseling. A recent assignment was to take time to tell others how you see Christ at work in them. This is actually something I’ve been trying to do for a few years (with ebbs and flows in how often I think to do it) ever since I read the book Practicing Affirmation by Sam Crabtree. In it, he argues that praising others is actually a way of affirming the work that God has done and is doing in their lives. For many of us this is a massive paradigm shift that opens the floodgates to seeing Christ in others.

As you begin to go on a grace-hunt in the lives of others, you’ll not only grow in your gratitude for how God is at work, but you can use your words to encourage others who may be so stuck in a difficult season that they don’t see Christ at work in their lives in all the ways that you do. 

Another thing to remember is that it works both ways: instead of starting with something about God and finding it in others, you can start with something you see in others (their creativity, their hospitality, their compassion) and be reminded that those things are reflections of God’s character. You can even encourage people who don’t yet follow Jesus because the common grace things you see in them come from them being image bearers of God.

So give it a try this week! Find someone you know, look for ways you see Christ at work in them (or things about them you appreciate and see how they connect with God’s character and work), and tell them. You can write them a note or tell them in person. You can include Scripture or keep it short and sweet. Just start with “I see Christ at work in you when you _____” or “The way you do ____ reminds me of ____ about God’s character.” And pray that it may even open the door to further conversations!

Your Kingdom Come

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One of the great gifts that we have as God's people is the Lord's prayer. This was the prayer that Jesus taught to the disciples in response to their request that he teach them how to pray (cf. Lk 11:1-4). Central to this prayer, as it was central to Jesus' ministry is the petition, "your kingdom come, on earth as it is in heaven". In fact, Michael Goheen, in his book A Light to the Nations reformulates the whole prayer around the notion that the petition, your kingdom come, is the central petition of the prayer. He writes, "May your kingdom come so that your name may be hallowed throughout the earth as the prophets have promised. May your kingdom come so that your will is accomplished on earth.  May your kingdom come so that the earth may again abound in prosperity, the hungry may be fed, and the needs of people met. May your kingdom come so that the world may be liberated from sin, and that forgiveness might wash over the earth. May your kingdom come; and when it encounters powerful spiritual resistance, keep us from succumbing to the temptation and trial, to the power of the evil one. May your kingdom come fully one day –  and may there be signs and evidences of its power even now."

As we wrap up our missions emphasis week this Sunday, it is appropriate that we land back in Mark, particularly chapter 4 verses 21-34. Throughout Mark, Jesus has been focused on the mission of his kingdom. In Jesus' formulation, the kingdom is both a gift and a command, both a petition and a prescription. Or to put it another way, the kingdom is both to be enjoyed and marveled at as it takes root and bears fruit in our lives and communities, as well as being a way of life that requires radical and unqualified devotion as God's people orient themselves to God's ways in God's world. In the parables that we will look at Sunday we see both the incredible promise of the kingdom, as well as hear the clear call to be faithful in spreading the seed of the word throughout the world. 

Your kingdom come; may this petition captivate our hearts afresh!

 

Photo by Tom Barrett on Unsplash

Sowing

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As January turns to February, do you start to think about spring? Some people start perusing seed catalogs about now. Soon the gardeners among us will sprinkle the contents of seed packets into small starter pots with hopes that good things will grow from them. Sometimes it works, and sometimes it doesn’t.

It’s interesting that Jesus talks about seeds often. In Matthew 13:31 he likens the kingdom of heaven to a tiny mustard seed that grows into a tree. Let’s consider that for a moment. When you cradle a mustard seed in the palm of your hand, nothing much seems to be going on. It looks insignificant, dry and quite frankly, lifeless. Yet, we know that if we sow it, water it and then wait patiently, new life will sprout from that tiny seed. We also realize that the growth had nothing to do with us. The important thing is simply that we nestled it in the dark soil and waited.

Earlier in the same chapter, Jesus tells another parable about seeds: He talks about a sower who planted seeds with varying results. Some of them were eaten by birds, others withered in rocky soil, and still others were choked by thorns. Yet the seeds that fell in good soil grew and multiplied. Again, the sower really had nothing to do with what happened to the seeds, did he? He simply sowed them.

So it is with us at Christ Church. We are given the privilege of sowing the seed—of inviting people into the kingdom of heaven. We cannot control the results. That is what the Holy Spirit alone does in the hidden places of the heart. We plant the seeds and He does the work.

Like the mustard seed, the early church looked insignificant to the Roman world around it. A handful of mostly unimportant people were transformed by the Holy Spirit’s work in their hearts, and wherever they went, they sowed the seed of the Gospel that had awakened them. God’s promise to Abraham of blessing all the nations of the earth (Genesis 22:18) was being carried out by them! It’s still being carried out by us today.

At this moment, Christ Church supports eighteen foreign missionaries. Isn’t that wonderful? Look at their pictures on the wall near the atrium and read their bios.  

As we head into our “Foreign Missions Week”, let’s consider how we can encourage these people who sow the seeds of the Gospel among the nations. There will be many opportunities to do this: On Sunday, our beloved Daniel Eguiluz, missionary to Peru, will be preaching. I can’t wait to hear what he has to say! He will also lead the Adult Sunday School session. Pray that his words will fall on good soil.

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