iGo, etc

Have you ever thought about the words to this hymn?

“There is a fountain filled with blood
drawn from Emmanuel’s veins
and sinners plunged beneath that flood
lose all their guilty stains…”

Such epic imagery! A fountain splashing over the sides with blood as Christ hangs over it dripping with redemptive love…

Reminds me of Isaiah 53, and I can’t help but continue coming back to “but it was the will of Lord to crush him.” Dude… I can’t even begin to express what that means to my life. So I’ve been thinking about students going with iGo missions this summer. You guys are incredible, and I’ve been praying for you. God’s just really had you all on my mind a lot recently, and here’s something he’s showing me in Scripture this week:

2 Corinthians 4

“But we have this treasure in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us.” Paul has just gotten done saying guess what? We all now have unveiled faces. When we walk, the glory of God should burst forth in the world around us, because we are being transformed into the image of Christ. Awesome. He continues to say “we refuse to do anything but that which God has given us to fulfill.” He says one chapter later that our ministry is that of reconciliation: returning and pointing back to God all of which He created. Beautiful stuff. But I’ll try and stay tactful today.

I had the honor of serving as a worship leader for students entering their 12th grade year, and students entering their first year of college at Super Summer this year. The thing I probably like best about Super Summer, is that it’s clear to everyone – the students, the leaders, the staff – that our treasure does not lie in ourselves, our families, our churches, or our schools, jobs, etc. The true treasure is the Kingdom of God. Super Summer is designed to enable couch surfing Christian students to get out of their living rooms, and start proclaiming the gospel in their lives.

This is what Paul is talking about here! v. 13, “since we have the same spirit of faith according to what has been written, ‘I believed, and so I spoke,’ we also believe, and so we also speak…” The point is, that having heard the gospel (Romans 10:17 says “faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ”…) we have no choice but to speak the gospel as we go about our lives. (He also writes later in 2 Cor. “the love of Christ compels us”)

I used to think of the “gospel” as some super-cheesy religious monologue that you quoted to strangers on the street in your best preacher-voice. I still to this day think, even if only for a split second, of gospel music when I hear the word, “gospel.” For a long time, I had a misinterpretation of what the gospel even is. Yes it’s the good news, but what is the good news? We overuse all these Sunday-School-answer words and nobody can even define what they mean.

But the reality is, the beauty of the gospel is that it’s not for me. The beauty of the fountain filled with the blood of Christ is the fountain’s not for me. It’s for all nations, all peoples. 1 Peter says “it is God’s desire that no one should perish, but that all should come to repentance.”

Paul writes on, v.14, we speak the gospel for we know that “he who raised the Lord Jesus will raise us also with Jesus and bring us with you into his presence.” And here’s where the bomb hits, he says “for it is all for your sake, so that as grace extends to more and more people it may increase thanksgiving, to the glory of God.”

Grace was not extended to me for my sake. Salvation was not given to me for my sake. Christ’s blood doesn’t cover me for my sake. But for the sake of those who are living in darkness. All of God’s creation, which he desires to be reconciled back to himself. 1 Thessalonians 3 says, “this is the will of God: your sanctification.” As we are sanctified throughout life, we point others to what our eyes are fixed on. Paul says here in 2 Corinthians, “the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal.”

My hope, my prayer, is that as I grow in relationship with Christ, the gospel of who He is becomes evident to the lives of people around me. And that’s my prayer for students with iGo missions this summer. That’s my prayer for students with gonow missions, world changers, youth groups, church groups, missionaries and believers across the world. Our treasure is that it all belongs to Him, not us.

Anyway, lots here. Take what you will, love what you will, share what you will. Thanks for reading.

Love you guys,
-m