What's Your Reality?

Imagine with me for a moment that you were with the disciples of Jesus on the Mount of Olives to hear the last words of Jesus before He ascended to Heaven. Experiencing the horrific scene of seeing Jesus crucified, feeling the sheer terror of Hope being dead and buried, the jubilation of the Good News of His resurrection and now gathering together with fellow disciples on the Mount of Olives. What is this He is saying? “It is better for you that I go to be with the Father for I will send a Helper?” How can it be good for Him to leave us? Who is going to continue on the work that He started?

“But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth,” He says (Acts 1:8). We are to be His representative? Who am I to take on His mission? We don’t deserve to be His ambassadors, yet He gave us His Holy Spirit to empower us to be just that: His Representatives. And the book of Acts shares how those early disciples fulfilled His command in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria and all over the world.

Yet the Mission lives on today! Acts 1:8 has a pattern for us to follow. If you are a believer in Jesus Christ then you are called to Represent! You are to live on mission and these next couple of weeks we will look at what it means to be on mission in your Jerusalem (Home), your Judea (School), your Samaria (City), and to the World. Jesus has called you to a mission and given you the power to fulfill it through the Holy Spirit. How are you living differently to engage your home, school, city and world with the Gospel?

What’s Your Reality?

Reality TV shows have been an allure to our culture for sometime. There is just something about seeing real people face situations, obstacles, challenges and relationships that appeals to us. We want “real” and “unscripted.” We want the “raw” lives of people on display. We want to see what we might do in that scenario. Some of the shows are good fun, clean challenges and audience engaging. More and more there are reality shows that should cause you to blush.

What would happen if then next great reality series premiering on prime time TV starred your family? The entire nation would sit back and watch as cameras were installed all throughout your house and they would observe the interaction of your family? What would they see?

Joshua, in the Old Testament, said “Choose you this day in whom you will serve, as for me and my house we will serve the Lord!” Is this what people would see in your house? Would your interaction with your parents be reflective of the peace of Christ of the adversity of Satan? Would you want people to see how you speak to your parents, the tone you use, the words you say? Would you want the world to know how you treat your siblings? How you do your chores? What would you be feeling knowing that people are looking into your daily interactions at home?

So let’s be honest, that just isn’t going to happen. However our home life does matter. Jesus wants you to live on mission even in your home. Some of you live in a home where everyone is a Christian, yet often your home life doesn’t really reflect it. Some of you live in a home where your parents or siblings are not believers and it takes all you have to even hold on to your faith. One thing we all hold in common is that it is very difficult to always be on mission in our home.

Maybe you never even thought of being on mission at home. Yet we are called to represent Christ in everything we do, in every relationship we are in and to everyone we meet. Representing Christ does not mean that we just spout off the Gospel to everyone and go on our merry way as if we fulfilled His command. Romans 12 has a lot to offer about what a true believer’s life should look like.  

No matter your home life, God wants you to be a light where you live. Learning to talk to others with compassion and love. Developing patience when things are not going your way. Speaking the truth in love, ever so careful of maintaining the relationship of the one you are speaking with.

Your home life is preparation for life. God has placed you in your home, with your family, in your situation to live on mission, to represent Him. He never promises it will be easy, but He says He has given you the Holy Spirit to be your strength. Learning to seek to “be Christ” to your family will help you live each day on mission for Him. When we fix our eyes on Jesus and live on mission in our homes, we will draw others to Christ.

You may not be on a reality TV show, but people come in and out of your home often. Do people come over and find your house a house of peace and comfort, or is it like walking into a battlefield? Seek to live in such away that your home becomes the oasis for your friends and family and a small picture of what heaven will be like.

Evaluate your own home life. How have you reflected Christ at home this week? How have you been a distraction from the Gospel in your own home? Who do you need to apologize to in your home to restore relationships?

The Good News of Jesus is that even when you mess up and you haven’t lived on mission at home, if you confess your sins to Him, He will forgive you! Start today, seek God’s help to live on mission in your home. You will be a blessing to God, a blessing to your parents, a blessing to your siblings and a testimony to the World of your love for Jesus!