The other day as we were discussing the Holy Spirit and the early church at our Young Adults group, it struck me how much as modern day Christians we are so focused on ourselves. With the best intentions at heart, we go to church, read the Bible, listen to podcasts, self-reflect, journal, do personal development activities, catch up with mentors and counsellors, etc. All these things are amazing things to do, don't get me wrong, but I think it's an easy and dangerous trap that I definitely feel like I am caught in too, where we are so focused on improving ourselves and being the "best Christian" that we can be, that we can forget part 2 of our calling.
In Matthew 22:37-40, Jesus says " '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.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.” These commandments go hand in hand so beautifully because the first one is about us and our relationship with God. It's so important to do this commandment well, to spend time with God and in His word every day so that we can be actively growing and "living life abundantly" (John 10:10b) that God wants for us. He loves us so much and wants relationship with us. This part of the commandment is the flow vertically between us and God. God pours down into us, and we pour our praise up to Him.
As we receive the blessings, growth, and Holy Spirit working in us from this vertical flow, we then get to the second great commandment. Love others as you love yourself. Prioritizing our relationship with God is the best way we can love ourselves so if we are to love others as we love ourselves, then we need to share the best part of us (which is Jesus) with them too. In Matthew 28:19-20 He says "Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you." This is where we get a horizontal flow from us to others. Being filled with God's light, we radiate that to others and can share what God has done in us to others so that they can be encouraged too. And if they don't know God already, then they have the opportunity to meet Him through you.
God didn't save us just for ourselves, He wants as many as possible to choose to come into His kingdom which is why He commissioned His disciples (all who call Jesus their Lord and Saviour are His disciples) to go out and spread the Good News. But He doesn't send us out alone, the last part of Matthew 28:20 is "and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age." So we don't have to be freaked out about that, it's an honor...and it's exciting,... and it's a natural consequence of us being filled with His goodness, His light and His presence. The more we keep the vertical flow going between us and God, the more horizontal flow will go out to others.
We see this concept so much in Scripture - Moses goes up to Mount Sinai to meet with God who gave him the 10 commandments to give to the Israelites (Exodus 19 and 20), Elijah spends time in the wilderness and God meets him there before he goes back out to the people (1 Kings 19), and the greatest example in everything - Jesus, who retreated to the mountains to pray many times in between teaching the multitudes (eg Mark 1:35-39, Luke 6:12-19). We can't neglect either flow direction - if we only are being with other people, then the flow will be small and the impact limited because our tank will be empty. If we are only spending time with God and keep all the vertical flow to ourselves, then we miss out on the opportunity to be God's light in a dark world. The flow design for the most fulfilling life therefore is down and in, and across and out.
So today, examine your average day, week, month and "check your flow" - how much focus you have on your own relationship with Jesus and how much focus you have on selflessly sharing God's light and love with others.

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