The X Axis And The Y Axis

The great commandment and great commission are the x axis and y axis for a believer in Christ. We plot our course by these two things.

These are not commandments written in stone. Those 'shall not' commands were fulfilled by Jesus. They were given to the nation of Israel not the rest of the world though they resonated with people everywhere. These are not like those. There was punishment for breaking those. God does not punish us for not heeding this. Grace given to us has born a nature within us that swims in an area defined by these two coordinates.

"A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another." - John 13:34-35 ESV

Love seems like a simple answer for the world. If we all just loved one another everything would be so much better. The thing is... people can't do it. They won't do it and they can't do it. Both things are true. Jesus doesn't say everyone can do this. He says loving one another is a mark of discipleship. We love submitted as students of a master learning our masters art form like any student would sit at a master craftsman's feet.

"And he said to them, 'Go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to the whole creation. Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned.' " - Mark 16:15-16 ESV

This commission is given to the same group the new commandment was given to. Go is in the Gospel. If we have not believed in Christ than we have no reason to do this. But if we have believed we have every reason. In verse 19 Jesus is taken to Heaven. This is the last thing He said before He left.

So, These two dynamics help me map any situation. The old street maps had letters and numbers... A, B, C, D, etc and 1, 2, 3, 4. You would use the index to find your street or landmark and it would have a combination... Page 4 - D3... You would turn to that page and count one, two, three and then find the D row or column (I forget which was which). Once you found your destination all that was left was to map a route to get there.

Christ is loving and seeking the lost. The great commandment and great commission help me find Him in my day or situation. That is where He Is and what He Is doing.

Where is love? What wins the soul? We don't win anything. God does the winning. We sow victorious seed.

That is the center of His will. Lust takes us somewhere else on the map. Self interest apart from God does also. God will seek us where ever we are and find us but He Is looking using this system and that is why we use it. He looks for us to love us and win us. Now we as His disciples learn from His meekness and lowliness and have His mind.

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