Why is it dangerous for a Christian to find the Great Commission boring? What's the big deal?
“Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour:”
We don’t have a monotonous combat
The devil is not some dust bunny under your couch to be swatted aside. We have a legitimate adversary! I have no desire to build the devil up in your mind, but I think we forget what he has accomplished.
Did you know that humanity killing each other through constant war was not part of God’s plan in the garden of Eden? Every war humanity has partaken in should not be thought of as just notes on the pages of history. Each conflict is a feather in the devil's cap.
Gas chambers in Germany were not just the evil of Hitler. The horrors of the Vietnam war were not a foreign policy faux pas. 9/11 was not just the work of demented men. Each of these actions can be traced back to a demon saying "eat the fruit" and, of course, humanity's wrong response to that temptation.
I am not encouraging you to see the devil in every bad circumstance or less than favorable situation. But I am encouraging you to understand that a less than proactive approach to the Great Commission and the judgement that awaits those that die in their sin probably equals a less than serious approach to the spiritual warfare we are in.
Any soldier can tell you that there is nothing boring about combat. The long drawn out affair that is war can surely have its share of "hurry up and wait", but when the bullets are flying and orders are being shouted and men are falling all around, no one is bored. Thankfully in this war...
We don’t have a monotonous commander
“Look unto me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth: for I am God, and there is none else.”
We get to serve the greatest Master and Commander possible! I shouldn't need to tell you how great He is! Churchill, Patton, Lincoln, Washington, Napoleon, Alexander, etc, they are nothing compared to our Leader!
“Jesus, Jesus, Jesus
There’s just something about that name
Master, Savior, Jesus
Like the fragrance after the rain
Jesus, Jesus, Jesus
Let all heaven and earth proclaim
Kings and kingdoms shall all pass away
But there’s something about that name.”
Look at Isaiah 45:22 above... Do you know who else can say look unto me and be saved? NO ONE! Not a politician, not a policeman, not a father or mother, not a soldier, not a king, not a saint, not a sinner. No one can claim the throne of eternity and the power to save a soul. Is our Commander monotonous and boring to you? Ever think about the fact that maybe we should take time to visit with him in the morning and get our marching orders for the day? Especially if we are walking into a combat zone!
Here is a question for you. If the God of the Universe is our Commander, what do you think our pay plan is like?
We don’t have a monotonous compensation
“I’m satisfied with just a cottage below
A little silver and a little gold
But in that city where the ransomed will shine
I want a gold one that’s silver lined
I’ve got a mansion just over the hilltop
In that bright land where we’ll never grow old
And some day yonder we will never more wander
But walk on streets that are purest gold”
It's a little foolish that we can get so blase' about literal streets of gold, isn't it? Heaven will be so far beyond our human understanding and imagination that the road surfaces will be the least of our worries! What an amazing future experience and reward that we so often take for granted!
I can tell you this: you may not be happy with the salary at your earthly job, but the rewards for working for the King of kings make each battle fought for Him worth it! Both here and in the Evermore!
“Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father’s house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.”
Are you finding yourself bored with our Combat, the war that we are in with the devil? Do you feel underwhelmed by our Commander and His greatness? Is your appreciation for our Compensation package less than it should be? In the third and final part of this post we will revisit Israel's lack of open vision that we spoke about in Part 1 and how we can learn to grow out of this monotonous frame of mind that we can all succumb to at times.