from January 3, 2010 prayer email

It is easy in churches that aspire to be missional to begin to believe that “it is all about the lost”. Although this is a huge improvement over “it’s all about me”, the Scriptures are very clear that it is not all about me or the lost. It is all about God and His glory. This emphasis placed on this truth is one of the things I find most compelling about reformed theology.

God’s heartbeat and mission in the world certainly includes bringing prodigal mankind back under His Lordship, one people group at a time. But it is much broader than that.

The worldview represented by “it’s all about me” cannot understand or even acknowledge God’s purposes in suffering, adversity, or persecution. The prosperity gospel has its roots in this worldview. The Christian embracing this way of thinking has underlined hundreds of promises in his Bible related to God blessing them. But they tend to ignore or minimize passages that speak of human responsibility and those that speak of the character and purposes of God. These believers view God as their servant (helping them to achieve their personal goals and advance their agendas), little more than a cosmic Santa Claus. The entire Jan-Feb 2010 issue of Mission Frontiers magazine is devoted to exploring the theme of God purposes in suffering. Some excellent reading.

The worldview represented by “it’s all about the lost” is embraced by many committed Christ followers. Unfortunately, it represents a narrow understanding of God’s priorities. Let me mention three among many that could be highlighted.

1) God is glorified through what He created. “The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of His hands.” (Psalm 19:1).

2) God brings glory to Himself through revealing His justice through harsh judgment (rather than sparing or saving) a people group that has resisted and opposed Him for generations. Think of all mankind in the worldwide flood in Genesis 6-9, Egypt in Exodus, the nations of Canaan in Joshua, Israel when she was sent into captivity, and the final judgment of the lost at the great white throne judgment in Revelation 20.

3) God is glorified through the life of an individual who is fully devoted to Him. Certainly this includes their engagement with the lost, but also includes issues of personal surrender, dependence, obedience, and the transformation of the inner person into one that is more like Christ. “Whoever serves Me must follow Me; and where I am, My servant also will be.” (John 12:26a). Following Christ precedes meaningful service (and outreach) for Christ. God receives great glory when these issues are given priority.

Let me suggest two personal responses that would bring glory to God in this new year:
• Make walking with God and allowing Him to transform you from the inside out a higher priority than your involvement in service and outreach this year.
• Conduct an experiment. Devote a month in your devotional reading to looking at Scripture solely through the lens of God’s character, purposes, and glory. Not through the lens of what’s in it for me (or for the lost). You might be surprised to discover how prevalent a theme “the glory of God” is in Scripture.