Bearers of Christ

Christopher.  The name literally means Christ-bearer.  That is what we as Christians are called to be.  We are called to carry Christ into the world, to be His witnesses, to share His love.  But how often do we actually do that?  I don't know about you, but I'm not as inclined to keep this command, as, say, not neglecting the assembly of believers, living in harmonic fellowship with other Christians.  Sometimes, though, I think that Christians are so focused on building Christ-like community that we forget that there is a world outside that needs the gospel.  I'm not saying that community is bad or unimportant, just that we shouldn't spend every minute of our lives in a little bubble of Christian friends.  In order to fulfill our duty of bearing Christ, we must tell the world about the gospel.  This is old news to probably everyone who will read this, and yet I know so few Christians, including myself, who actually try to share the gospel.  So this is a challenge to everyone who confesses Christ as Lord, to count the cost, carry the cross, complete Christ's call to share the good news.

©Marian Solano

                                                                     
"Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And, lo! I am with you always, even to the end of the age." (Matt. 28:19-20)

Peace

Peace.  The word immediately brings to my mind a sense of longing, yearning, for peace.  I believe that everyone has a desire for peace, whether it is personal contentment or world peace, we all long to feel at rest, with nothing and no one to fight.  But it doesn't happen.  There is insecurity all around: wars at home and abroad, restlessness in the soul, and plain old discontent.  Why is that?  Why are we never at peace?  I think that the poem The Pulley by George Herbert answers the question quite nicely:

                       When God at first made man,
Having a glass of blessings standing by;
Let us (said he) pour on him all we can:
Let the worlds riches, which dispersed lie,
               Contract into a span.

               So strength first made a way;
Then beauty flow’d, then wisdom, honour, pleasure:
When almost all was out, God made a stay,
Perceiving that alone of all his treasure
               Rest in the bottom lay.

               For if I should (said he)
Bestow this jewel also on my creature,
He would adore my gifts instead of me,
And rest in Nature, not the God of Nature:
               So both should losers be.
 
               Yet let him keep the rest,
But keep them with repining restlessness:
Let him be rich and weary, that at least,
If goodness leade him not, yet weariness
               May toss him to my breast.

Our only hope of real rest, a deep inner peace, is found in Christ alone.  If we seek it not there, we will never 

find it elsewhere.  

Striving to Rest

So, over the past month or so, I have been struck by all the verses in the Bible which talk about resting in Christ's strength and not striving on our own.  If we try to work with our strength, we will quickly become disheartened, lose energy, and give up. (See Ecclesiastes 9:11 below.)  However, there is so much in Scripture that tells us that our work is not  through our own strength.


"Again I saw that under the sun the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, nor bread to the wise, nor riches to the intelligent, nor favor to those with knowledge, but time and chance happen to them all." (Ecc 9:11)


"Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might." (Eph 6:10)


"The LORD is my strength and my shield;
   in him my heart trusts, and I am helped;
my heart exults,
   and with my song I give thanks to him." (Ps 28:7)


"My flesh and my heart may fail,
   but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever." (Ps 73:26)


If we work, not with our own strength, but with God's and let His power work through us, we can actually rest, while we work. "For this I toil, struggling with all his energy that he powerfully works within me." (Colossians 1:29)

So, while we toil, we rest, and while we rest, we work.  It is so easy to get caught up in our work and never rest or ask God to help us in our work.  So then, let us strive to enter the Sabbath rest of God, seeking Him, His strength, and wait for our eternal rest while we toil here on earth with His power working mightily within us.