Turn the World Upside Down

‘Go and tell John the things you have seen and heard: that the blind see, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, the poor have the gospel preached to them.’ Luke 7:22 This is how Jesus answered the doubts of John the Baptist, when he was wondering if Jesus really was the One. And with that answer, it was confirmed, the Son of God was here!

So it is with us, the presence of God in our lives is known by a radical transformation; a new Boss is in town! Our lives should reflect the fact that this Jesus, this Man who brushed the Pharisees up the wrong way, is in living relationship with us. His influence should be apparent to all those we meet. St Paul and St Silas were in Thessalonica three weeks only and the people were outraged, crying out against them, indignant that these two men had rocked their ‘well-balanced’ lives (Acts 17:5-9).

Jesus came; eating with sinners, talking with outcasts, washing the disciples’ feet, healing on the Sabbath – all wholly disagreeable practices in those days…and still today, comparable situations can be found. A quick glance over Hebrews 11 will reveal the evidence of a life with God; how those of old ‘through faith subdued kingdoms, worked righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, quenched the violence of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, out of weakness were made strong, became valiant in battle, turned to flight the armies of the aliens…’.

Certainly then, even now, God works through those who are called by His name. ‘He who believes in Me, the works that I do he will do also; and greater works than these he will do…’ John 14:12 God has called us to change the world we live in, to challenge the status quo and not to be afraid to step out of the conveyor belt of society.

One great follower of Christ said ‘courage is almost a contradiction in terms. It means a strong desire to live, taking the form of a readiness to die.’ Our great Captain is leading us out in battle, who will follow? Are you willing to step out in faith into those works which God has prepared beforehand that you should walk in them (Eph 2:10)?

‘Some want to live within the sound of church or chapel bell; I want to run a rescue shop within a yard of hell.’

A missionary to Africa, India & China