At 211 degrees, water is simply very hot. Add one more degree and it becomes powerful enough to drive engines and produce electricity. When it reaches its boiling point, a world of potential energy is released and the results of that energy can be quite impressive.
Our Christian life can be viewed in a similar way. We can live our lives with Christ just below the boiling point, warmed by the Spirit, but shy of releasing our full potential to impact the world for the kingdom of God. We can attend church, read our Bibles and participate in studies and projects and yet never allow Christ to have full authority in our lives or experience the full release of the Holy Spirit’s power.
Jesus warned the early Church through the revelation he gave to John on the island of Patmos, to avoid being lukewarm. Many of us heed that warning and commit ourselves to being fired up for Jesus Christ. The next step in our journey, however, is to move from “fired up” to “on fire.” As the beloved children of God, we are the joyful partners of the One who is, “able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine according to His power that is at work within us” (Ephesians 3:20), and as such, our lives should reflect that awesome power in all that we do.
W.H. Murray, in the book The Second Himalayan Expedition, wrote, “Whatever you can do, or dream you can, begin it. Boldness has genius and power in it.” These are amazing words for a man writing merely about the human capacity to dream and achieve. Imagine the possibilities when that capacity is linked with the unlimited vision and power of Almighty God. What could Christians willing to dream God-sized dreams and minister in great faith be able to accomplish for God’s kingdom?
Such a life of power and impact requires more than a wish and a prayer. It requires more that hoping it could be true. In fact, it demands complete surrender to Christ and a tenacious commitment to see God’s plans through to the end in spite of the obstacles, the doubts and the things that cause us fear. Vince Lombardi, speaking on success, said, “There is only one way to succeed in anything… and that is to give everything. I do, and I demand that my players do. Any man’s finest hour is when he has worked his heart out in a good cause and lies exhausted on the field of battle… victorious.”
If we are going to see the fullness of the Spirit’s power at work in our lives, our families, our workplaces, our church… community… and world, then we must give everything of our lives to God and allow Him to give us all that we need for the work assigned to us for this day, or this season. When we put our complete faith in Him and surrender our lives to His will, then we become effective conduits of His power and we will begin to experience the awesome wonder of living the life of a 212° Christian. It is an awesome challenge, but the results are worth it. Will you accept the challenge? Will you, as our Lay Leader asked recently, “give up what you cannot keep in order to gain what you cannot lose?” Will you say, “Yes!” to God’s vision for you today?
