Originally published at road2wholeness.com on 5/27/17
Welcome Back! Thanks
for visiting The Road2Wholeness Blog and taking the stroll with us today. You’ve landed in “The Reach” Series.
Today “The Reach” is Out!
Why Reach Out?
Well, I suppose that right away a picture or thought comes
to mind of helping someone up as is depicted in the post image, and I’m also
thinking along those lines, however, I’m thinking about having the heart do the
reaching. What does that look like?
For me, it looks like one hand extended out in front and one
hand extended out behind. It’s a bit of
an awkward position to be in physically, and perhaps it may slow you down a
bit, but in my mind’s eye; it works. So
who’s in front and who’s behind, and who’s the big-hearted one in the
middle? This is an image I often think
of. It’s the idea of reaching for what’s
in front, while taking your brother with you.
Okay, now I know what you’re thinking. Drop the dead weight. But what if it’s not dead weight? I think about The Great Commission in the
Bible, and suddenly this image not only works, but it all of a sudden… it makes
sense. It makes sense when we see God in
front. As long as God is what we reach
for, we will be encouraged to carry the load.
Fortunately, with God we are given the heart to do so, and we are
empowered to get it done.
I was recently thinking about the entire purpose of God
calling forth a chosen people. (If
you’re not familiar with the Bible, in Exodus, God sent Moses to rescue a chosen
people and lead them into freedom.) Have
you ever asked why? I have, and two
things were revealed to me. One reason
was to create a people who could personally testify about the hand of God;
about His power, goodness, and grace. Now
God wasn’t trying to establish an elite people.
It may appear so, but as you move through to Jesus’s time on earth and
the unveiling of The Great Commission, what is revealed is what God knew from
the beginning. God already knew that His
chosen people whom He named Israel, was going to fail at righteousness. He already knew He would scatter them all
over the face of the earth for their disobedience to His laws and prescribed
ways. Therefore, the scatter was not simply
for punishment as it first appears, but it was for the distribution of a chosen
people (a people who could testify about Him) all over the face of the
earth. And there is the second reason
God called forth a chosen people.
That is why Jesus had to come from that line of people. First He had to redeem the chosen, and then
He released them to go forth and spread the good news about what they had
witnessed. This has now become the
universal pattern of Christianity; that we would experience the power,
goodness, and grace of God and then move out in telling the good news; which is
the testimony of your encounter with the Lord.
As I examine this pattern, I see that it is the God way to
do life. Therefore, The Great Commission
is not just an assignment of Christianity, but it is used to show you how to position
your life. That is the position of one
hand stretched out to God and another stretched out to your brother. This is how we stretch our heart’s capacity
to love, forgive, serve, and honor.
So today, I simply want to encourage you to, “Reach Out”… first
to God and next to your fellow man. Live
with brother in mind and let the heart do what it has been called to do! “Reach”!
Remember to go within that you may never go without. The God within awaits you. Until our paths collide again, I wish you... Peace, Love, Life, and Complete Wholeness in Christ!
In Service,
NaTisha Renee Williams
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