Changing the way we see is a process. When we hear a report of radicals burning down Christian homes and businesses, or suicide bombers devastating a marketplace full of innocent people, it is difficult not to get angry.
I used to look at these situations and think harsh judgments about them. I still feel that they are horrific, but the difference now is that I see an invitation to dream with God. When I see an enemy that comes to kill, steal, and destroy, I turn my focus to the One who comes to give abundant life. In the past, I didn’t know how to be a change agent. I was overwhelmed with the darkness because I could see no way to make a difference. When you love, you don’t ask God for judgment; you ask Him for solutions.
In this journey of learning the different worldviews, I began to understand that you only have authority over what you love. If you don’t love your city or country, then you won’t get authority over it. When you get God’s solutions, you want to be part of the solution.
When I began to think in this way, I found myself praying differently about these horrific situations in teh world: “Father, do You see the destruction of those terrorists? Whatever they deserve, place them on me, because I’m Your priest. I represent these people to You. Where there is sickness and disease, I present healing and life. I am an ambassador of reconciliation.” The Father’s heart in you begins a ministry of reconciliation in you. You step into the equation to become a history maker and world changer. Many of us pray from Chair 2, asking God to do what He has called us to do. Nothing is wrong with prayer meetings, but if they become a substitute for our assignment, then they are disobedience.
When Abraham was negotiating with God to spare Sodom and Gomorrah, God wasn’t the one who stopped. Abraham asked Him to withhold judgment first for the sake of 50 people and got all the way down to 10, then didn’t go any lower. But what if he had? What if there was only one left? Eventually there was, and God placed the sin of us all on His shoulders at the cross. He took sickness and disease on Himself so that by His stripes, we are healed (Isaiah 53:5).
He took the punishment of us all. And then He called us to follow in His footsteps—to take up our cross and follow Him. We can; we are already righteous in teh Father’s eyes, already loved as much as we’ll ever be. Absorbing the sins of others is not going to lessen our status before the Father. That’s what priests do. We never go in to attack the people; we attack the enemy behind the people.
As I began to see Muslims differently, God opened doors to make a difference in their culture. It didn’t matter to him if the desire to bring peace looked impossible—he specializes in the impossible. You overcome evil with good, not with judgment. If the enemy knows that every time he attacks there will be a tsunami of love, then the world will be changed.
Jesus said it was actually better for Him to go away than to remain (John 16:7) because that meant His presence could be everywhere rather than in one place. It is a very real presence. From that presence, we have peace; and from that peace, we have provision. From that place, we get new passion and new power, we are sent on assignment with a new program and purpose, and we begin to see from a new paradigm.
The Father sent Jesus, and Jesus sent us in the same way He had been sent. Now our view of the world has everything to do with how He will treat it. When we know He is good, we will show the kindness that leads to repentance. We re-present on Earth what’s in heaven.
Our lives reveal to those in Chair 3—those who have no idea how to access heaven—what heaven is like. In us, they can encounter Jesus. So too can those in Chair 2. Even though they know Him and believe in heaven, they don’t think heaven is available while we are on Earth. Our union with the Father, Son, and Spirit demonstrates the heavenly blueprint here and now.
The world longs for the revelation of the sons and daughters of God (Romans 8:19). Chairs 2 and 3, even with different belief systems are in one way or another trying to belong. Chair 2 tries to belong to God, Chair 3 to the world. They believe they have to behave in order to belong. But Chair 1 believers know we belong, therefore we behave like sons and daughters. We demonstrate to the world what it’s like to belong in Papa’s house. We become the revelation the world is looking for. We learn how to steward and access our inheritance. With the Son, we inherit the world.
Weekly bite-sized wisdom designed
to equip, educate, and empower you in the journey.