As all of this Switchboard stuff has unfolded, our attitudes have changed.
It’s hard to explain the transition, really, and there are a lot of times when we’re still not sure if we truly understand it, much less if we can explain it. However, the more I grow and the more I learn about who Jesus is, the better I’m beginning to piece it all together.
I used to think that Jesus would call us all to a specific task… that we would know for sure what we were supposed to be doing… that there would come a point in all of our lives where He would show us the exact path that He has for us. After all, that’s what I was always taught. Seek God’s will for your life, and then, one day, He’ll reveal it to you and you’ll know what He wants for you. Until then, I guess that you’re just supposed to pray and have faith that He’ll show it to you.
I’m not so sure anymore….
Now, don’t get me wrong. The Bible is very clear in numerous places, namely Jeremiah 29, that God has plans for us, and I really do believe that He’s prepared each of us for specific tasks (Ephesians 2:10) towards which He’ll will and woo us. So, maybe I’m arguing semantics, but I’m not so sure that that’s our “calling.”
How often do you hear other Christians or even yourself (I know that I for one am as guilty of it as anyone) say something along the lines of, “I’m just waiting for God’s call” or “I just don’t know what God wants for my life?”
I was in that boat for a long time, frustrated and confused as to why God had not shown me His grand plan. I didn’t know where to turn because, aside from a few big-time pastors, missionaries and writers, everyone else seemed to be right with me, coasting along, waiting. Something seemed to be so wrong with this picture. If He would just tell me what to do, then I could get started, and all would be well again!
In essence, it was God’s fault… Being the “good Christian” that I was, I wanted to be open to whatever He wanted me to do, but He just wouldn’t show it to me. Therefore, I resigned myself to the idea that it was I who was being gracious with God, enduring with much patience His seeming inability to make me a “To-Do List.” Of course, I would have never vocalized it this way, but, in essence, that was my thought process as I waited for Him to send down my list of “Things to do for the Kingdom.”
Don’t we all do this in one way or another? We all expect a master list, a record of that which we need to accomplish, a log of what God needs for us to finish up before we come on home. We want so desperately to be told what to do. It would be so much more concrete. We often think that we would have no problem doing whatever God needed us to do if He would only just tell us what it is that we should be doing, the career path that we’re supposed to follow, the place that we’re supposed to live, who we’re supposed to date, what church we should go to, which mission trip to go on, which ministry to serve in…
We make the assumption that we would obey if we only knew, but, ironically enough, in our quest to figure out what to do, we actually end up doing nothing. We hide behind this shield of ignorance, blind to what God truly has in store. Somewhere, somehow, we missed it… or we have just ignored it.
God has already shown us his will for our lives. God has already called us. Just like the rich young ruler in Luke 18, Jesus has called us to give up everything and follow Him. Couple that with the Great Commission (Matthew 28), and we now see not only how to live but also what to DO.
What more do you need?
Live each day to follow Jesus and let your actions show others how to do the same… That’s a calling if I’ve ever heard one.
We’ve really begun to feel like this Earth is our home, and we’ve lost that eternal mindset. We begin to see things in the here and now, consumed by clothes, cars or even church programs instead of the thousands that are dying everyday without a relationship with Jesus Christ. It’s sobering…
Some would say it’s too radical. Others would hide behind the excuse that we’re not all called to be missionaries, but while we can’t all go to the heart of Africa, we are all called to be missionaries, to recklessly and unashamedly live our lives to make the glory of God known to ALL people.
Some will go deep into the lush, green jungles of Southeast Asia, fighting malaria and snakes the size of small trees, others will go to the hectic, urban jungles of New York City, dodging angry cabbies and pigeon poop, and still others will go next door to the not so “jungle-ish” backyard barbecue, combating undercooked hamburgers and yellow mustard stains.
It’s not where you are; it’s whom you represent. God has chosen his church, and only his church, to be the ones to spread His message of love and mercy to the world.
THERE IS NO PLAN B. WE ARE THE ONLY HOPE…
We worship a guy who was murdered, so naturally, there may be some sacrifices, but if we really believe this stuff, if we really believe that Jesus can and will save, then…
ISN’T THE RISK WORTH IT?
