Operation Lydia ~ Image
Yesterday, I introduced Operation Lydia as a four-part series. It is a simple way to consider mission in the context in which you live.
First things first:
1) Be yourself.
Matthew 5:16 – “Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven.”
There are two things we should be aware of before we ever go on mission…
- What we have in common with the world around us: the image of God
- What makes us different from the world around us: the likeness of God
Jesus is saying that we image the good that is around us through good works, yet we maintain the likeness of God in us by staying grounded in our identity in Christ!
Since we have been renewed into the likeness of Christ (Col. 3:10), we have now been given an uncanny ability to be immersed in a dark environment, while maintaining our identity as Christ-followers, i.e., lights shining in the darkness. So, for the Christian to be themselves is a tremendous call to be both an imager of God and an imitator of God in the world directly in front of us.
What’s difficult about this is that our sphere of influence may be our lame 9-to-5 job, our daily commute, our favorite coffee shop (where we love our privacy), our family, our irritating next door neighbor, our favorite hobby….
As a hardcore introvert, this is for me an olympic feat.
What is it about the implication to be yourself that keeps you from immersing yourself in the world around you?
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Posted on October 10, 2011, in mission, Missional Millennials and tagged Image of God, imaging God, imago dei, missional millennials, operation lydia. Bookmark the permalink. 4 Comments.
Everyones sphere of influence is a great place to be a shinning light. No need to run here and there and feel like a second class Christian if we aren’t busy, busy, busy making inroads all over. No need. Walk in the Spirit daily. If today brings new conversation with the unsaved then great. If today doesn’t, great. It’s that easy. If someone is, “called” to do more then do it. Paul did just fine chained up in jail. He just worked with his sphere of influence. I think it worked out pretty good.
I think Philippians 2:15-16 is a very full yet concise summary of this.
“That you may be blameless and guileless, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and perverted generation, among whom you shine as luminaries in the world, Holding forth the word of life, so that I may have a boast in the day of Christ that I did not run in vain nor labor in vain.”
We should be among the crooked and perverted generation but we should still be blameless and guileless. God has no intention of saving us and then hiding us in a cloister to shine alone. The purpose of the shining is to scatter the darkness of others. I love this phrase “among whom you shine.” This is the shining out of Christ in our living.
But then the next verse tells us to “hold forth the word of life.” This is to present, apply, and offer the word of Christ to others through our speaking.
To me the danger always is “Oh I’ll just be with them and hopefully that does it all. Surely they’ll notice something different.” They may, but they may still need some words to define what they are noticing.
This reminds me of the quote that is always falsely attributed to St. Francis of Assisi,
“Preach the Gospel, and when necessary, use words.”
You’re right, just being with them, doing good things cannot replace the explanation of the gospel in words.
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