Do you like to people watch? I have a lot of fun people watching. I find it very entertaining. I like watching their facial expressions, their body language and posture. I think you can learn a lot about someone just by watching them interact with others or even walking into a room.
I was at our high school football game this past Friday night. It was homecoming and the place was packed. The former principal of the school was there. He was a favorite of the students and the parents. He never raised his voice, yet his mere presence commanded respect. He was someone the students would cut up with and seek to hang out with at sporting events or in the halls. Students would walk up to him and give him a hug or a high five in greeting like they would their closest friends. They all saw him as “one of them” yet they knew if they crossed a line, he was as quick as any goalie to kick you them back (figuratively speaking, of course). He was successful as principal of our school because he didn’t try to prove anything to anyone. He knew who he was. He knew what his job was and he remained focused on what he was there to do.
As believers, we will have a much greater impact for the Kingdom if we know who we are. John 1:12 says “Yet to all who received Him, to those who believed in His name, He gave the right to become children of God.” As children of God, we are His representatives in all we do and say. We carry a certain amount of authority just by our association with the Father.
We also need to know what our job is. In Matthew 28:19 Jesus tells us what our job is: “Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit” and Acts 1:8 tells us “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”
Our primary purpose is to share the Gospel of Jesus Christ, leading others to Him. If we recognize who we are and then walk in the authority that comes with our identity, then we can do what we are to do successfully.
The last thing we need to do, and probably the most important, is keep our eyes fixed on Jesus. 2 Corinthians 4:18 says “So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.” Our gaze is to be on the King. Hebrews 12:2 says “Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.”
Just before He died on the cross, Jesus was able to tell the Father He had accomplished all the Father sent Him to do [John 19:28-30]. What will you be able to say to the Father when you come to the end of your days? Will you be able to say I’ve done all you sent me to do? It’s never too late to start. Let today be the beginning of doing all the Father sent you to do in this world.