2 minutes
As Christians, it is paramount that we understand the importance of being intentional in our spiritual journey and that this must include being intentional regarding the sharing of the true faith. We must be constantly discerning what God is doing in our lives and in the life of the church.
Only by being intentional can we see the divine appointments that God has set up for us to interact with the people around us. That we often are not intentional in looking for these appointments causes us to miss them, which means we are not having the gospel conversations that God has intended for us.
Too often, the church does disciple-making without any intentionality. We have Bible study classes or Discipleship classes but are not creating disciples – not as defined in the New Testament and witnessed to by the Book of Acts.
One of the ways we can begin to fix this issue is by creating and joining Grow groups: a group whose purpose is to make disciples who make disciples, and not simply go through the motions. A proper Grow group ensures that group members are engaged in at least four of the attributes of a disciple: Bible study, Prayer, Fellowship, and Evangelism (through mission outreaches). If most Christians were to join a Grow group, we would see the church making huge inroads into creating disciples in a community setting as the early church did.
As Christians become the disciples God has called them to be, they will become more intentional in their daily lives. Intentional Christians understand that they are giving everything for Jesus, their Savior and Lord.
Colossians 4:5 explains: “Conduct yourselves with wisdom toward outsiders, making the most of the opportunity.” The term “conduct” in the Greek is a present imperative, meaning that we are commanded to do this and to continue doing it. In other words, this is not simply a suggestion. It is a mandate that we should be doing constantly. This verse is telling Christians that we are called to be intentional in our behavior towards unbelievers, to seek the opportunities that God is giving us, and to make the most of those opportunities.
Intentionality includes
- Living life on purpose. We are to be on the lookout for those opportunities when we can share the gospel. Christians are not supposed to be living on auto-pilot. We are to be the co-captains of our lives, taking control of our situations as God instructs us.
- Planning for things to happen. This does not mean that we are looking out for particular things to happen so we can implement our plan. It means we have readied ourselves for whatever happens around us.
- Goal-setting. Set a goal to glorify God. Hand out one tract a day. Help one unsaved person a day. Call/Text/Message one unchurched person a day. Tell one person about Jesus every day. Whatever your goal is, by living your life to intentionally reach that goal, you will be living intentionally and fulfilling God’s purpose for your life: to glorify Him.
- Being disciplined. The spiritual disciplines, such as Bible reading, praying, fasting, and solitude, help us learn to think intentionally about what we are doing and to make certain things habits in our lives. Living intentionally is a discipline. We are making it a habit to live in a way where we are looking for what God is doing around us and then joining Him in what He is doing.
As Christians who are becoming disciples who make disciples, let us obey Colossians 4:5 and live with intentionality. By doing so, we are becoming the people God intends, bringing glory to Him, and fulfilling our purpose in life. Let us live intentionally until He comes again or takes us home.
Maranatha!