Heart Tracks - An "Andrew Life"

"Then Andrew brought Simon to meet Jesus. Looking intently at Simon, Jesus said, 'Your name is Simon, son of John - but you will be called Cephas." (which means Peter) John 1:42

Andrew was not a "star" disciple. He's certainly not as prominent in the biblical narrative as Peter, John, and James. Yet there is something he consistently did; he brought people into the presence of Jesus. I don't think the church lacks for Peter, James, and John "wannabe's," those who want the prominent, visible places in ministry. Far fewer aspire to the ministry of Andrew, those who live in such a way as to constantly point to and bring lives and souls to Jesus Christ. The need for such is desperate.

Most churches seem to spend inordinate amounts of time discussing how to reach people who don't know Christ. A myriad of outreach strategies are discussed. None of this is bad, but so much of it involves trying to get people to come to what the church is doing, the ministries it offers. So much so that the church has adopted the marketing strategy of the corporate world....and we suffer greatly because of it. The need of the day is a raising up of a generation of "Andrew's," people who just bring others into the presence of Jesus. In my prayer journal I have written, "Father, give me an 'Andrew life,' one that brings other people into the presence of Christ."

I was not brought to Christ through any kind of slick outreach campaign, or attractive church ministry. It was through the lives of three different people. The first two were people I had known whose lives had been trapped in darkness, just as mine was, but who had come to know Jesus, and whose hearts, eyes, and countenance now shined with His joy. It was through them that I was eventually led to cry out for Him on a Sunday evening in the dining room of the home I grew up in. It was the third life that began for me the journey of an ever deepening walk with Him; the Pastor of the church I began attending in a suburb of Pittsburgh.

That church didn't really offer me much of what I outwardly thought I needed. I was young and single, and most of them were either young and married, or older and married with families. The church wasn't even nearby. I had to drive almost 20 miles through a myriad of traffic lights to reach it. What drew me was that when the Pastor preached, I saw Jesus. I saw Him in that man's life, in the words he preached, and how those words gripped my heart. Every time I came, I was ushered right into the presence of the King. In the midst of my life's deep need, I knew I needed Him. More of Him, and I was getting Him. These three were "Andrew's." Each brought me into His presence. A presence I never wanted to leave.

How deeply do you and I long for an "Andrew life?" Do we want to be so soaked in His presence that our very lives usher others into it? Do our lives shine with the joy, peace, and strength of Jesus Christ? Do we know how to tell others about Him, yet fail to have others see the One we speak of living in and through us? I want more of that Andrew life. I want to so live in His presence that others are drawn to Him because of it. Do you join me in that?

Jesus was the Living Word, His Word made Life. When He, the Living Word, is alive in our hearts, He flows out of our very being. Our lives become a testimony to His Presence, and consistently point to His Presence. That's what it means to have an Andrew life. May it be the life each of us lives and has.

Blessings,
Pastor O