What Am I Hearing and Seeing?

The first of three posts on "Go back and report...what you hear and see."

Key Scripture Passage
Jesus replied, "Go back and report to John what you hear and see:  The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is proclaimed to the poor.”  Matthew 11:4-5 NIV

Reflection

People who are willing to report what they hear and see can have tremendous impact in our world.  Check out these inspiring stories of folks in Cambodia, the Congo, Mexico, the Middle East, and right here in the United States if you're not convinced.

So what are you reporting to others of what you are hearing and seeing about the kingdom of heaven on earth?  Do you realize that by simply being willing to report what you are hearing and seeing, you may be able to allow your friends to experience a bit more of heaven on earth?

We started this blog with Jesus' command to "Go and make disciples."  Despite the king commanding me to do it, I find that really hard to do, so I rarely do it (and I am trying to do it more).  Now the king is encouraging me to simply "go back and report...what we hear and see."  Surely that is easy enough to do, and yet again, it seems like I rarely even do that.

When I ask myself why I rarely do it, I come down to either I am not seeing much of the kingdom of heaven on earth, or I refuse to put my pride and ego aside to tell others about it.  It's definitely not the first - I get to see God do amazing things in the lives of people all over the world.  It is much more the latter, and so now I am trying to be much more intentional about simply reporting to others what I am hearing and seeing.

Are there potential repercussions?  Yes, but in general nowhere near the life-threatening risks faced by those featured in the inspiring stories I referenced at the beginning of this post.  And the king who told me to report what I hear and see actually has all authority on earth subject to Him.  Hmmmm - now that should make me a bit bolder, shouldn't it?!

No one can question what you hear and see.  If you get in the game of extending the kingdom of heaven to earth through your actions, you will have plenty to report to others.  And as you humbly report it, just watch how God will extend more of His kingdom to your listeners, and you as well.

Questions to Consider

What have you seen and heard of the kingdom of heaven being extended to earth?  Are you reporting it to others? 

Action Steps for the Week

Identify just one example of how you have seen the kingdom of heaven being extended to earth and tell 2-3 people about it this week.