Networking 101

10/10/2011

Weather Report From Heaven: Sunny and bright, with an abundance of light and lots of singing and rejoicing.

Bible verse of the Day: Mark 3:13-14 "Jesus went up to a mountainside and called to him those he wanted, and they came to him. He appointed twelve-designating them apostles- that they might be with him and that he might send them out to preach."

Jesus was the best net-worker that ever lived. There, I said it. No I-phone, no lap top, no cell phone ,no fax machine, no Nike's, no car, no planes. Just the most perfectly executed networking strategy in history. Take 12 rag tag guys, mostly uneducated fisherman and despised tax collectors, and tell them that they are the plan. In their hands the Gospel lies. There job? Nothing less than to ensure that the gospel is heard throughout the world. They are to spread the good news of Christ's coming, His death and resurrection, and the eternal implications of that for all of humanity. TALK ABOUT PRESSURE! No last minute drive to win the Super Bowl or playing golf for $5 a hole with only $2 in your pocket can even shake a stick at this amount of pressure. But here we are over 2,000 years later and the gospel is still being preached in Judea, in Samaria and to the ends of the earth. How did Jesus know that His plan would work and why did he chose to carry it out this way? Couldn't He have done a better job if He just handled it himself? After all, we are imperfect human beings, prone to errors in judgement and weak in character. The fact that Jesus choose 12 guys to carry the gospel message reveals some deep and interesting things about Him; He understood math and the compounding of numbers. He values a relationship with us more than we could ever imagine. He is a great delegator, communicator and coach. He knows that for the Kingdom to grow, that we must personally grow in our faith and as a result, be involved in helping the Kingdom to grow. Finally, Jesus knew that this wasn't a sprint but a marathon. He spent three solid years with the disciples teaching, rebuking, preparing and motivating them for the task at hand. He imparted wisdom from His Father unto them, but they didn't get it. He was patient with them. He understood their human condition to doubt, whine and betray. He never stopped investing in them. As a matter of fact, He took great joy in investing in them. Nearly 2,000 years later these same things apply to us. By the grace of God, He never leaves us or betrays us. When we fall down, he picks us up, dusts us off and gets us back in the game. No condemnation, only love and joy. He is willing to invest in us as along as it takes for us to get our act together. Sometimes that takes awhile. To him, it is always worth it. Each soul a precious treasure to be redeemed. I am humbled at the thought of His amazing grace, unfailing mercy and incomprehensible love. I pray that one day it will truly sink in and I will burst forth with an energy and freedom that I have never imagined. All fears set aside, for if He is for me, what can stand against me? I am not sure if in our human condition we can even come close to grasping how His plan for spreading the gospel involves each one of us as His hands and feet and what that means for our lives. How the plan He put in place with His 12 disciples now continues on today with every Christian alive today able to take part in His plan. His joy is in including us in His great work of spreading the gospel. The foundation was laid so solidly, that there is nothing in the world that can keep it from its destination. Billions of souls throughout history will attest to it. Jesus is the greatest net-worker that ever lived. Hallelujah!