Spectator or Participant?
By: Kristen L. McNulty
Reprint rights available on request. Email the author at kristenmcnulty@hotmail.com.
For the first three years of my Christian walk I believed a lie. It was rather a convenient lie to believe so I wasn't in a hurry to question it. The lie? That it was okay to not be serving in a ministry of some way, shape or form. As I said it was a convenient lie because by believing it I gave myself an excuse to sit on the sidelines instead of taking a step of faith onto the field.
Thankfully I discovered the lie was just that, a complete lie meant to paralyze me as a believer and keep me complacent on the sidelines. Which is a place not one single believer belongs.
It's really a rather brilliant master strategy on Satan's part. What better way to reduce the reach of the kingdom of heaven than to convince as many people as possible that the sidelines is where it's okay for them to remain.
But we as Christians aren't meant to be spectators in the stands or announcers calling out a commentary from the sidelines, you and I are meant to be active in the game, giving it everything we have, holding nothing back!
An All-encompassing calling
As we talked about last week, Jesus has set the bar for His followers so much higher than doing nothing, little or the bare minimum. There is no Biblical case to be made that the only commitment required from a Christian is going to church once a week or going to church and then volunteering an hour or two a week. No, being a follower of Jesus is an all-encompassing calling that puts His kingdom first in our lives. As we read in Mark,
"Then, calling the crowd to join his disciples, he said, 'If any of you wants to be my follower, you must turn from your selfish ways, take up your cross, and follow me. If you try to hang on to your life, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for my sake and for the sake of the Good News, you will save it. And what do you benefit if you gain the whole world but lose your own soul? Is anything worth more than your soul?'" Mark 8:34-37
Jesus doesn't mince words here, this is what being a follower of Jesus requires. Giving up our lives for His sake and for the sake of the Good News. This is radical and it's meant to be. Following and serving Jesus isn't a side hobby or a small volunteer role, it's a calling that encompasses our entire lives and changes our focus from living selfishly for the things we want to do with our time and instead using the time on earth He gives us to complete every task that He sends us. And make no mistake, we've each been given a gift meant to be used for His glory!
1 Peter 4 teaches us,
"God has given each of you a gift from his great variety of spiritual gifts. Use them well to serve one another. Do you have the gift of speaking? Then speak as though God himself were speaking through you. Do you have the gift of helping others? Do it with all the strength and energy that God supplies. Then everything you do will bring glory to God through Jesus Christ. All glory and power to him forever and ever! Amen." 1 Peter 4:10-11
And then in Romans 12 we read,
"We are many parts of one body, and we all belong to each other. In his grace, God has given us different gifts for doing certain things well." Romans 12:5-6
Following Jesus First and Foremost
The Bible doesn't give some of us a hall pass and say we've been excused from serving because we aren't gifted. You are. I am. There are no exceptions. But let's be honest here. Usually when we don't serve the kingdom with everything we have, it's not because we believe we aren't gifted, it's because we are selfishly trying to hold on to our definition of how we want our life to be and the things we want to fill it with. Let's not beat around the bush here. We all do it. We try to fill our lives with friends and free time and leisure and hobbies and then we give God whatever is left over. But that kind of living is backwards for the believer. For the believer it goes following Jesus first and foremost, pouring our time and energy into building His kingdom of heaven, not our kingdom of worldly comfort.
You and I were made for a purpose and have a God-given gift that we need to be pouring into the kingdom. We need to engage with the body of other believers and actively allow ourselves to put our gifts to work with theirs (1 Corinthians 12), so as teammates for the kingdom we carry out the work of Christ to show His love and glory to the world around us.
Spectator VS Participant
At no time in our lives as Christians can we abandon pursuing this kind of living for Christ with everything we've got. There is no biblical case for sidelining ourselves from what's happening on the field. If we do, not only are we abandoning what the Bible calls us to, but the longer we sit on the bench the higher are odds become of turning from a participant into a lifelong spectator. And the two roles are night and day different from one another.
Participants show up to put their gifts to work, spectators show up looking to be entertained.
Participants shout out words of encouragement to their teammates, spectators can boo just as loudly as they cheer.
Participants look for ways to collaborate and get the job done with others out on the field, spectators stay put in their seats.
Participants are active in their involvement, spectators sit passively on the sidelines waiting for someone else to act.
As believers and followers of Jesus we are all called to be participants in God's kingdom right here and now. The calling on our lives isn't to observe and provide commentary on those who are participating. The calling on our lives is to get out on the field and get to work. So let's do it.
If you've found yourself on the sideline lately in any way shape or form, don't stay there a minute longer. Commit right here and right now to get back in the game no matter what.
If you are fully in the game right now, high five, but don't let your guard down. Any one of us are capable of developing the attitudes and behaviours of a spectator. Surround yourself with others who are active in serving the kingdom and spur each other on and hold each other accountable.
Using The Time We Have Left
Not one of us knows how long we have left on the game clock of our lives, but let's make sure whether it's 30 more days or 30 more years, we don't waste a single moment. The God of the universe not only has saved us from our sins, but He has gifted us, promised He would go with us wherever He leads and invited us to serve in His kingdom. What an incredible gift and responsibility that is, one that I for one don't want to squander.
Return To The Impact Devotional Archive
