Responsibilities and Resources

Found this in my devotional this morning:  "God is infinite, and when He pours Himself into us and into our abilities, we take on His capacity, not our capacity. When God pours Himself into the tasks that He calls us to do, there is no limit to how much He can multiply our efforts to accomplish His purposes." (Stanley, C. F. (2004). God's way day by day (279). Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Publishers.) There are several passages that come immediately to mind, when I reflect on these words, but the one that sticks out is the Great commission;  "And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, 'All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth.  Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:  teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen.'"  Matthew 28:18-20 (KJV) 
     The emphasis always seems to be on our responsibility; "Go,"  "Teach," "Baptize," "Make Disciples."  We gravitate toward that verse because finally, WE are doing something; finally, WE are the center of attention.  The spotlight is on us.  And so we develop our programs, and ministries, and Bible studies, and small groups.  We pour all of our energy into getting them started, and sustaining them, completely ignoring the resources that are at our disposal.
     Jesus did, indeed, command us to do all of these things.  But the commandment is the center of the cookie; the filling of the Oreo to use a rather crude analogy.  In verse 18, Jesus told his disciples, "All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth."  And in verse 20, Jesus promised his disciples, ". . . and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world."
     I want you to meditate on those provisions this morning, and throughout your day:  if Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior, has all power . . . and he has promised to be with US eternally - there should be no reason we should not be able to carry out the commandments he has given us.  And if we are not carrying out these commandments, the fault lies with us.  We are shirking our responsibilities, despite the provisions that have been made.

In Christian Love, "Doc" Hilton