When you find yourself lacking the drive to fulfill Jesus’s final commandment of actively spreading the Good News and making disciples, it often roots itself in a lack of genuine amazement at His grace. It’s an undeniable reality that genuine amazement naturally compels us to share what we’ve found. Think about the last time you dined at a new restaurant, and you were left awestruck by the quality of the food relative to the price you paid. Your immediate instinct was to share this delightful discovery with others.
But here’s the crux of the matter: when we don’t experience profound amazement at God’s grace, it typically means we haven’t fully embraced our identity as deeply flawed sinners. While we may acknowledge our imperfections and wrongdoings, we might not consider them as grave as the transgressions of notorious criminals. Yet, it is essential to recognize that, without Christ, our path was no different from history’s darkest figures, headed toward the same inevitable destination.
The chain reaction unfolds when we live our lives thinking we’re not “immense” sinners. Let me clarify: when we perceive ourselves as not being “immense” sinners, the gap between God and us appears narrow, within reach on our own. And if that gap isn’t significant, then the sacrificial act of Jesus on the cross is not that big of a deal. Consequently, the grace that God extended to us to describe what Jesus did may not strike us as truly amazing.
In essence, the depth of our recognition of sin and the magnitude of God’s grace are intertwined. Understanding our desperation for salvation highlights the enormity of what Jesus accomplished on the cross and, in turn, amplifies the awe we feel toward God’s grace.
True amazement naturally compels us to share, even if Jesus himself warns us not to. To illustrate, consider this incident found in Mark:
A man with leprosy came to him and begged him on his knees, “If you are willing, you can make me clean.”
Jesus was indignant. He reached out his hand and touched the man. “I am willing,” he said. “Be clean!” Immediately the leprosy left him and he was cleansed.
Jesus sent him away at once with a strong warning: “See that you don’t tell this to anyone. But go, show yourself to the priest and offer the sacrifices that Moses commanded for your cleansing, as a testimony to them.” Instead he went out and began to talk freely, spreading the news. As a result, Jesus could no longer enter a town openly but stayed outside in lonely places. Yet the people still came to him from everywhere. (Mark 1: 40-45 (NIV)
Similarly, our former state was marked by spiritual affliction and estrangement. Yet, through Jesus’ amazing grace, we are adopted as God’s beloved children and cleansed by His sacrificial blood. When we truly grasp what Jesus has done for us, we too cannot help to share with others.
In Mark 7, we witness how people defied Jesus’s instruction not to spread the news, and in verse thirty-seven we learn why.
V.37 “People were overwhelmed with amazement.” (NIV)
So how do we become more amazed? Stay tuned for part two.