Big "G" and little "g". If you've ever taken a physics course, you might remember what these letters represent. G is a constant (the gravitational constant to be exact), but g is not. It does not matter a bit where in the universe you are. G will always be the same 6.67*10^-11 N*(m/kg)^2. You might remember that little "g" is just the acceleration due to gravity aka a measure of the strength of gravity. For example, here on Earth it is ~9.8 m/s^2. The moon has less gravity, thus g is smaller and ~1.6 m/s^2. Big "G" is actually used to calculate little "g" with the simple equation, g = G*M/r^2. You might be wondering where I am going with this, and no this is not a physics lesson.
The triune, Christian God, YAHWEH, is big "G". He doesn't change. He is a constant. Everything else is a little "g". They vary. They are relative. All other gods and idols are little "g". They might seem to be concrete, but it's only because sometimes we have a very narrow view. The truth is that whenever we change locations or perspectives, these idols and gods change. They cannot hold up to the changes and challenges of life. Often times the Israelites would create and worship idols such as a golden calf. Today we see people worship money, science, jobs, people, etc. All these things have one thing in common. They are all created things. They are all creations of God. It's just like how little "g" is calculated or created from big "G". Why worship the created when you can worship the creator!?
"You are worthy, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they were created, and have their being." ~ Revelation 4:11
Saturday, March 22, 2014
Monday, March 17, 2014
Starving for the Gospel
If you've ever watched TV, you've undoubtedly seen commercials for starving people, especially children. They play super sad music while showing pictures of kids with skin pulled taut over their bones. Now do you remember the emotions these commercials brought upon you? You probably felt saddened by them and compassion for them. You might have imagined what it would have been like to be in that situation. Now imagine seeing somebody starving, but not because of a lack of food. Instead it's because they are a picky eater. They have a table full of food, but they refuse to eat it. If you saw a commercial for that person asking for a lobster tail and filet mignon because a turkey sandwich wasn't good enough, would you feel compassion for them? Would you feel inclined to help them?
The fact of the matter is that this is what the world experiences everyday...spiritually. There is one difference though. The people asking for surf and turf are somehow garnering most of our money and attention while those legitimately without food are ignored. Did you know 9 out of 10 missions dollars go to countries that are already Christianized? The other 10% goes to the unreached people of the world, the people starving for the gospel. It seems as though most of the missions efforts goes to people that gave heard the gospel or have it nearby. It goes to areas of the world and countries that are actually sending out missionaries of their own. Why is it that the 3 largest nations in the world other than the U.S. (1-China, 2-India, 4-Indonesia) are also the 3 most untouched by the gospel? Why don't we have more compassion and urgency to reach the unreached? We are going and preaching the gospel in areas for the 100th time when some areas and some PEOPLE still haven't even heard the name of Jesus for the 1st time!
I don't want to make it seem as though I don't appreciate missionaries in Europe and South America and other areas such as those, because those people are lost too. I know that, and they still need the gospel brought to them. I am just trying to make a distinction between lost and unreached. I recently met a young lady who was the only Christian in her entire home island in Indonesia. We have more followers of Christ in a single church than entire people groups have else ware (the nations that Jesus refers to in the great commission). The fact of the matter is that these areas are unreached because they aren't easy, but that doesn't mean there isn't a harvest to be reaped. They just need workers.
My challenge to you is this. What are you going to do about it? Maybe this means to start giving to missions. Maybe that means thinking more about where you are going to send that next missions check. Maybe that means answering God's call to go with the gospel to an unreached land across the world. Whatever it may be, do it! God has entrusted us with bringing the gospel to the world. Let's not let the good news end with us. Let's not continue to fatten the calf, but instead let's focus more on feeding the starving.
The fact of the matter is that this is what the world experiences everyday...spiritually. There is one difference though. The people asking for surf and turf are somehow garnering most of our money and attention while those legitimately without food are ignored. Did you know 9 out of 10 missions dollars go to countries that are already Christianized? The other 10% goes to the unreached people of the world, the people starving for the gospel. It seems as though most of the missions efforts goes to people that gave heard the gospel or have it nearby. It goes to areas of the world and countries that are actually sending out missionaries of their own. Why is it that the 3 largest nations in the world other than the U.S. (1-China, 2-India, 4-Indonesia) are also the 3 most untouched by the gospel? Why don't we have more compassion and urgency to reach the unreached? We are going and preaching the gospel in areas for the 100th time when some areas and some PEOPLE still haven't even heard the name of Jesus for the 1st time!
I don't want to make it seem as though I don't appreciate missionaries in Europe and South America and other areas such as those, because those people are lost too. I know that, and they still need the gospel brought to them. I am just trying to make a distinction between lost and unreached. I recently met a young lady who was the only Christian in her entire home island in Indonesia. We have more followers of Christ in a single church than entire people groups have else ware (the nations that Jesus refers to in the great commission). The fact of the matter is that these areas are unreached because they aren't easy, but that doesn't mean there isn't a harvest to be reaped. They just need workers.
My challenge to you is this. What are you going to do about it? Maybe this means to start giving to missions. Maybe that means thinking more about where you are going to send that next missions check. Maybe that means answering God's call to go with the gospel to an unreached land across the world. Whatever it may be, do it! God has entrusted us with bringing the gospel to the world. Let's not let the good news end with us. Let's not continue to fatten the calf, but instead let's focus more on feeding the starving.
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