Impacting Your World For Jesus Series

Christians make great hospital visitors, school governors, town councillors, and volunteers. Christians make great friends to the lonely, the housebound, widows, single parents and more.

Jesus used many different metaphors and illustrations as to what it means to be his people, to impact our world for Him. So, I long to see us take seriously the call of Jesus to be fishers of men, going into the world making disciples, but I realise we need to know how to do that. Sometimes we hear plenty of theory and not enough practical examples; Yes, I hear the Bible saying, “Go and make disciples”, teach people to follow Jesus; but please tell me how I can do that?

I’ve recently been challenged by the fact that the Bible challenges us to arrange our lives in order to impact people for Christ. Following Jesus every day and in every way is not a personal self-help manual. It is the way to love God and to love our neighbours.

If I live a life of high potency by knowing Jesus will that make Jesus known? If I’m full of salt by knowing Jesus and I immerse myself into the lives of people who don’t yet know him will that make Jesus known? To a degree, yes it will; but Jesus asks us to be both salt and light. Light makes clear that which is hidden. Literally, we are light in this dark world when we shed some light on issues, and especially when we shed light on things that really matter.

In 2 Corinthians 4: 5-6 we’re told that when the message of Christ was first clarified to us God ‘made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ’. The light of the knowledge of the glory of God!

We are light when we communicate clearly the message about Jesus. It is a message that mustn’t be hidden or obscured. Jesus wants us to spiritually illuminate other people.

A few weeks ago I quoted St. Theresa who said that we are now the hands and feet of Jesus in this world. I wanted to add that we are also his mouthpiece to a world that needs to hear about him (Romans 10:14ff).

I sometimes quote St. Francis of Assisi who said to his disciples, “Go and preach the gospel. Use words only if necessary.” Who am I to disagree with such a saint? But he was a man of his time. We must be men and women of our time. Yes, we are called to preach the gospel by who we are and what we do, what we don’t do, and how we treat one another and the world we live in; but we must also be light in a spiritually dark world. We need to be ready to give a reason for the hope that we have. St. Peter writes, “In your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have” (1 Peter 3:15). It doesn’t have to be complicated. It doesn’t have to be eloquent; and the reason is always, “Jesus”!

Why have you just sat with me for hours listening to my problems? I’ve done it because of Jesus. Why do you go to Church? It’s because I love Jesus. Why do you believe marriage is between a man and a woman, not two men and not two women? That’s because I take the teaching of Jesus seriously. Why do you want me to come to Church with you? I want you to come because I’d love you to know Jesus better.