This Sunday, we continued through Kingdom Revolution, our series looking at our CABLE Practices and how they showed up in Jesus’ ministry. We took a closer look at the Bless value: bless the world with servant-love as we share good news about Jesus.
Read John 3.16–18.
The reason that the Bless practice is so important to us is because Jesus, in this passage, lays out two possible futures for us. The first is a future where people spiritually perish and spend eternity apart from God (hell). The other future is one that promises eternal life in the presence of God (heaven). In Matthew 5, Jesus makes it clear that heaven and hell aren’t just about eternity—our actions and choices can actually invite heaven and hell into our lives here on earth.
As followers of Jesus, we’ve been given and entrusted with His gospel that drives out hell and brings hope, healing, reconciliation, life and heaven to people on earth. This is why we’re so committed to blessing the world with the good news of Jesus’ gospel.
Read 1 Peter 2.12, Matthew 5.16, and 2 Corinthians 9.11–12.
The single greatest way to give credibility to Jesus’ gospel and to draw attention to it is by living a life of love. When we love the people around us, we’ll draw attention to the God who makes this love possible. Be on the lookout for the three things that can often get in the way of this kind of love: selfishness and laziness, busyness, and apathy to the reality of a future where others spiritually perish. When we feel like these things get in the way of sharing the gospel and loving people well, there are things we can do to address these barriers:
- Remind ourselves of where we were and where we would be without Christ. It’s crucial to remember the mess we were in before we met Jesus. As we experience gratitude for His love, we’ll be compelled to love those around us.
- Remember the gospel’s power to bring life to those around us. Remembering the gospel’s power to change lives encourages us to love those around us.
- Confess where we’ve been selfish, too busy, or apathetic to those who are living far from God.
- Ask ourselves what we want our legacy to be.
When we love others well, we have the opportunity to leave a legacy of being the kinds of people who introduce others to life-change, healing, and restoration through the gospel of Jesus.
Discussion Questions:
- What kind of legacy do you think you would leave today? Are you satisfied with that legacy?
- Do you verbally share your faith with the people around you who are far from God? Does how you live your life match the words of life-change that you share about Jesus?
- What opportunities to love others have you taken in the past week? If you haven’t taken any, what opportunities might you have missed?
- How often do you let busyness, fatigue, selfishness, or apathy get in the way of loving others and sharing your faith with them? Talk to your CABLE Group or a trusted friend about these times, and ask them to hold you accountable in the future when you begin to feel tired, busy, or apathetic.
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