We must go
This is the last part in a series of articles based on the Tim Hughes song “God of Justice.” I have a couple more ideas to share with you based on lyrics from this song. N.B. If you are not familiar with the song I recommend you watch this youtube video which uses it as the background track before reading the article (I would also recommend buying Tim Hughes’ album ‘Holding Nothing Back’ which includes God of Justice on it):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a4vzG348dWQ
The first line I want to look at is the line “We must go”
“Jesus came and told his disciples, “I have been given all authority in heaven and on earth. Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you. And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”” Matthew 28v18-20
Note the wording Jesus uses: “Go and make disciples of all nations”. Not ‘if you feel like it’. Not ‘sometimes’. Not ‘on Sundays’, but simply ‘Go’. Living with the core aim of winning new souls for the Kingdom is not optional. It should be our central passion, 24/7/365. Every day we need to live in such a way that God will be glorified, and people will be able to see Christ shining through us.
Why must we go? Because every day 7200 people will die of an AIDS related illness. Every day 5000 children will die from water related diseases. And when we live to advance the Kingdom their lives will be changed. But even more importantly, every day thousands of people who haven’t accepted Christ die and spend eternity separated from Him, with “weeping and wailing and gnashing of teeth”. We have the knowledge that can change that. We must go to the lost, bringing them the good news of salvation through Christ.
The other section I want to mention is the refrain:
“Fill us up and send us out
Fill us up and send us out
Fill us up and send us out”
Imagine your hands worked a little bit like a watering can – only instead of water pouring out of your hands, it is God’s love pouring out on everything you touch. How much love could be poured out would depend on two things – how large the hole was for it to flow from, and how full of love you were.
So what’s the practical application of that analogy? Well, if we are to stand beside the broken and live to feed the hungry, we need to pray that God would fill us up with His Spirit and His love so that we have the ‘spiritual reservoir’ that we can then allow it to overflow into the world. And we must constantly look for new ways to ‘widen the hole’ – new ways to show God’s love to the world. And when we have been filled up, rather than just let it all leak away, we must go, and let God’s love pour out on lives and situations where it can bring growth, fresh hope and salvation.
One last thought – God doesn’t bless us merely for our own benefit. He blesses us so that we can then bless others. In genesis 12v2 God tells Abraham: “I will make you into a great nation. I will bless you and make you famous, and you will be a blessing to others.” We must go and be a blessing to others. Time is running out – one day Jesus will return, and then it will be too late. While there is still time, go!