The drawing above is a map, a model, and a mission for Christians and for the church of the Lord Jesus Christ. A map is used to determine where a person is and where they are going. A model is a representation of the final outcome, in this case the final outcome of a life lived by faith in Jesus Christ. A mission is that to which a person devotes his or her energy, time and talents. The life to which the believer is called is a life lived on mission with God.
The elements of the drawing are the cross, the connection circle and the world.
The cross represents Jesus Christ whom believers exalt as Lord and Master. As followers of Jesus we exalt Him in worship by loving Him with all we are. The Bible says in Matthew 22:35-38, “Then one of them, a lawyer, asked Him a question, testing Him, and saying, “Teacher, which is the great commandment in the law?” Jesus said to him, “ ‘You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.” That’s loving God with one’s whole being. He is the exalted Ruler before whom we bow.
We also exalt Jesus by being His disciple and becoming like Him. Galatians 2:20 says, “ I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.” The believer lives his or her life in such a way that it becomes less about “me” and all about Jesus. That is being a disciple. When people see me they see Jesus living in me and through me. Our slogan should be “Not I but Christ.”
The connection circle represents the connections believers establish with one another through their common bond of faith in Jesus. Christians establish those connections through the local church in relationship with others through fellowship and ministry. Church is the place where we know each other and where we care for each other. Jesus said the distinguishing factor of the Christian life would be our love for one another. In John 13:34-35, Jesus says, “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.”
The globe or world in the drawing represents the compassion believers express to the lost, hurting people of the world who have never received forgiveness and new life with God through Jesus Christ. We believe that Jesus is the only hope for the souls of men and women, boys and girls. A favorite passage, John 3:16-18, expresses the reason why Jesus came to this world, “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved. He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.”
Without faith in Jesus as Savior and Lord mankind is doomed to eternal destruction because of sin. Through Jesus, God paid the price for mankind’s sin and made forgiveness possible through faith, belief in Him. The only way people will know about this plan is for Christians to tell them. This is the basis for evangelism and missions. This is why we share about Jesus to those who have not believed. It is the greatest news that has ever been told.
This simple drawing says a lot. It represents a lot. It lays out for every believer the map, the model, the mission of following Jesus. Relationship with God and relationships with other people made possible through faith in Jesus Christ.
Exalting Christ… Establishing Connections…Expression Compassion.
