This semester has been very informative and has helped my Christian walk tremendously. Studying evangelism has changed my perception of witnessing and worship. It has also challenged my thinking to view evangelism as worship. Before this semester, I viewed my walk with the Lord as personal and private. I studied the scriptures to grow spiritually. Now, I view everything I do through a missional lens of interpretation. Everything I have read and learned in the Bible is for the sole purpose of equipping me to daily live “an authentic and intentional life of worship that embodies the ministry passions of Christ.” [1]
Our daily lives should bear witness to the power of the gospel by which we are saved. Our daily walk is a testimony to the world about the power of God and to manifest the Lord Jesus Christ. We are commanded “to lead a life worthy of your calling, for you have been called by God” (Ephesians 4:1 NLT). The Apostle Paul declares God has called us and therefore, we should live our life in a manner worthy of our calling. God has elected us to represent Christ on the earth.
Our life is a life of relationships and the quality of those relationships begins with our relationship with God. The horizontal relationships we have with relatives and friends are enhanced and influenced by our vertical relationship with God. “God made us to enjoy bright, vibrant, loving relationships. He is the God of relationships. Life is about relationships. The relationship designed by God for communion with His people is first an upward relationship—one that reflects our worship of God and the personal relationship we have with Him.” [2] Our vertical relationship with God influences our horizontal relationship with man.
Many Christians place a high priority on the horizontal relationships they have with friends and family but our vertical relationship with God must be our priority. “Our worship of God is the foundation of our relationship with God. Our relationship with God is directly proportional to our worship of Him.” [3] The Apostle Paul said that true worship is the proper response to a loving God: “And so, dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all he has done for you. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice—the kind he will find acceptable. This is truly the way to worship him” (Romans 12:1 NLT).
God created man to have a relationship with him. “The purpose for the creation of the world and the revelation of Jesus both center in God’s plan for an intimate relationship with those He created. To make this happen, God strategically places in the heart of each person an impulse or desire to seek, know, comprehend, value, pursue, and love Him.” [4] Our desire for God is what propels us to have a relationship with him. As we spend time with God in prayer and reading his word we grow and mature. As we respond to God’s love we will share his love with those around us. Our desire to worship God defines our realities of worship. [5] God desires for us to have an intimate relationship with him. He wants us to be open and honest with him about every aspect of our lives and desire him. This desire is what separates us from all of his creations. We have been created to have a relationship with God who created the universe. From the beginning of time, man has had a desire to know and have a relationship with the creator of the universe. This inner desire unfortunately has led many to idolatry and the worship of the creation instead of the creator.
Our Christian lifestyle also influences our evangelism as we relate to other Christians. We as Christians are responsible for making sure we have the correct motives and relationship with God and other Christians before we can be an effective witness to the world. Our Lord spoke of the importance of our relationship with other Christians: “Love each other. Just as I have loved you, you should love each other. Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are my disciples” (John 13:24-35 NLT). Jesus said our relationship with each other is a visible witness to the world that we are his disciples but the opposite is also true. If we don’t love each other and show that love through genuine loving relationships with one another, our witness to the world is evidence that we are not disciples of Christ. As Christians, we must ensure that our vertical relationship with God reflects true heart-felt worship because it influences those around us positively or negatively. We must walk worthy of our calling.
[1]David Wheeler and Vernon Whaley, The Great Commission to Worship,(Nashville, TN: B&H Publishing Group, 2011) 120.
[2]Ibid. 94
[3]Ibid. 96
[4]Ibid. 96
[5]Ibid. 97
