What if?

A lot of stuff has been running through my head lately, and a conversation with a friend last week really got me thinking. What would the church look like if we really lived out the Bible and the Christianity it portrays instead of the Christianity we Americans have made it to be.

What if we actually took Matthew 28:19 seriously:

Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in[a] the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.

Or if we took the great commandment(Matthew 22:36-39) and really applied it to our lives:

"Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?" Jesus replied: " 'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.'This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.'

Or what if more followers of Christ would live the life of a disciple risking their very life for Christ's namesake.

Or what if people actually realized just a fraction of how important they are to God. And really realized the power and true love of John 3:16:

For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.

Or what if the church really lived in community and actually acted like Acts 2:42-47:

They devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. Everyone was filled with awe, and many wonders and miraculous signs were done by the apostles. All the believers were together and had everything in common. Selling their possessions and goods, they gave to anyone as he had need. Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.

And maybe we would make a bigger deal about the poverty in our own country, the poverty abroad, the Genocide in Darfur, the struggles of Uganda, the struggles of Congo, the people still living in human slavery, or even care more about a country like Haiti and not just because it's a buzzword and everyone else is doing something, but because the Love God has for us, and we want to share.

I don't know what all this would look like, but what if?

What does this look like for you on a personal level?

Conviction of Love

Love Chapter: NIV

1 If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal.2 If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing.

3 If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing.
4 Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.5 It is not rude, it is not self‑seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs.6 Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth.

7 It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.
8 Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away.9 For we know in part and we prophesy in part,10 but when perfection comes, the imperfect disappears.11 When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put childish ways behind me.

12 Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.

13 And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.

1 John 4:16

16 And so we know and rely on the love God has for us.
God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in him.

Love Chapter: NIV with a little description of Jesus, because He is fully God, and fully man.

1 If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not Jesus, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal.2 If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not Jesus, I am nothing.

3 If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not Jesus, I gain nothing.
4 Jesus is patient, Jesus is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.5 He is not rude, He is not self‑seeking, He is not easily angered, He keeps no record of wrongs.6 Jesus does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth.

7 He always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.
8 Jesus never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away.9 For we know in part and we prophesy in part,10 but when perfection comes, the imperfect disappears.11 When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put childish ways behind me.

12 Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.

13 And now these three remain: faith, hope and Jesus. But the greatest of these is Jesus.

Now here comes the conviction! Can you describe yourself like this? I can't, but it's something to strive for.

4 I am patient, I am kind. I do not envy, I do not boast, I am not proud.5 I am not rude, I am not self‑seeking, I am not easily angered, I keeps no record of wrongs.6 I do not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth.

7 I always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

Looks like I have a few things to seek Jesus and work on. Do you?