Life Up Your Eyes
The time will come when the kingdom of God shall be more glorious on earth than it has been since the apostles’ days. The Spirit of God will be poured out in a more abundant manner than ever, and the Church will be more purified and refined than ever. - Jonathan Edwards
When we look at the craziness of the world around us, we may be tempted to think that such a day could never come. We like to assume that things are always getting worse. From the Lord’s point of view, however, things are not as they appear to us. He sees the whole picture. He sees the past, present, and future all at once. He is omniscient.
Today, though the world seems out of control, the Lord still reigns. The king’s heart is like a stream of water in His hand. He is in control and is working all things together for our good and His glory (Rom. 8:28).
The king’s heart is a stream of water in the hand of the Lord; he turns it wherever he will. - Pr. 21:1
The truth is that there are more Christians alive today than at any other single point in human history.
The Lord is at work. In some places, Christianity is booming, even if underground. In other places, it is declining, though pockets of true believers still remain. In still others, such as Italy, the church remains frozen in time, awaiting a proper reformation born of the faithful proclamation of the Gospel.
Him we proclaim, warning everyone and teaching everyone with all wisdom, that we may present everyone mature in Christ. For this I toil, struggling with all his energy that he powerfully works within me. - Col. 1:28-29
Paul describes his ministry not as a casual endeavor (a walk in the park), but as a ‘toil’ and ‘struggle.’ It is a hard labor of love for Christ, aimed at the maturity of the church and the salvation of men.
Often, the modern missionary is tempted to gauge the progress of the Kingdom by visible metrics: growth charts, attendance, public approval, influence, or immediate cultural shifts. When we toil in a place like Italy, where the soil can feel hardened by centuries of quasi-Christian tradition or indifferent secularism, the lack of immediate fruit (visible/measurable results) can tempt us to doubt the effectiveness of the Gospel seed. It can cause us to doubt the value of pouring ourselves out in such a barren land.
In places like Italy, we must remember that God’s decree is not dependent on our visibility. We labor with the energy He provides, not because we see the harvest, but because we trust the Lord of the harvest. The glorious day Edwards envisioned is built on the cumulative, often hidden, faithfulness of men and women who simply trusted and obeyed God’s word in all spheres of life. Their godly ‘toil’ and ‘struggle’, like Paul’s, were governed by faith in the risen and reigning Savior of the world and the unchanging Word of God, not what the eyes can perceive.
Be encouraged, brothers and sisters. There is more to the Lord’s mission in this world than we can see or fathom. Lift up your eyes. Fix them on Christ. Stand firm. Keep on serving, building, and furthering the Gospel each and every day. SDG.
Turn to me and be saved, all the ends of the earth! For I am God, and there is no other. - Is. 45:22
Written by Jesse Schreck | founder, director, and missionary church planter in Italy with Practical Missions Cohort
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Interested in learning more about Biblical Missions and Missionary Church Planting in Italy? Visit practicalmissions.org or missionsacademia.com.
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