Life can be so mundane that it seems pointless, don’t you think? Imagine leading a life where your biggest concern is how you and your family will eat. But isn’t that the reality? Every day you work hard, so that you and your family have somewhere to lay your head with a full stomach – then you work a little extra so you can have the finer things in life, like a nicer neighborhood to call home with good security, and access to fine dining, amongst others. What is the point of life if all I ever get to do is eat well and sleep luxuriously and safely? Is that all there is to life?
One of the beliefs I hold so dearly is that you need to invest where there is a return. I applaud unbelievers who live out their lives in sin so loud that they have no regrets or apologies (not to mean they are getting the better end of the bargain, but I’m going somewhere with this – bare with me). But what about us Christians? We are half sold out to things that regard the kingdom of God. We are only willing to go as far as is necessary to get us to heaven. It means that any benefits in God’s kingdom are not completely within our access. Even unbelievers live life better than we do.
Christianity – the Biblical kind – should not just be about believing in Jesus. That is great, since it gets you a ticket to heaven. However, if you read your Bible, the commission is so much more. Your goal as a Christian should be to make heaven touch earth (‘Thy Kingdom come, and Thy will be done on Earth’ – Matt. 6.10 KJV). But that, my friends, is not what most of us are doing – we are barely scratching the surface with this Christianity thing.
There needs to be an effect on earth because of Christians. Your existence in a certain region should innately produce peace, freedom and so much more. Life should be so much simpler – not to be confused with easier – when you decide to be a true Christian.
So, what do I mean?
‘Until the Spirit is poured upon us from on high, And the wilderness becomes a fruitful field, And the fruitful field is counted as a forest’. (Isa. 32.15 NKJV)
The Holy Spirit is the Cheat Code. Remember how incredibly the Apostles moved on earth – performing signs and wonders wherever they went? Before that, Jesus had asked them not to leave the city until the Holy Spirit would come. There is such a thing as Christianity without the Holy Spirit.
‘The Holy Spirit had not yet come upon any of them, for they had only been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.’ (Acts 8.16 NIV)
If your only goal is to get to heaven, all you need is to believe in Jesus as the Lord and Savior of your life. However, if you want to live in the fullness of Christianity, as a son in the Kingdom of God, be filled with the Holy Spirit.
Nothing should catch you by surprise as a Christian. You should not be fearful of the things that others are fearful of. You should not go through troubles with a similar perspective as everyone else. You should be moving with precision, never missing opportunities that are for you. Your discernment for things and accuracy should beat Google. You should be different – and I say this to you as much as to myself – it is time we became people of impact because of Whom we belong to. It is time we moved on earth on similar measures and graces like those before us. Get the Holy Spirit as the extra to your ordinary. Be a Christian of impact.
Scripture Reading: Matthew 6:10; Isaiah 32:15; Acts 8:16