With Arms Wide Open

Can you picture it?  The one by one by one dirty, nitty gritty, love relationships that Jesus formed?  The GRUNT work that this man-who-was-God did with intentional  grace.  Tearing down walls, peering behind the veils, lifting away the masks until all that was left was bare, raw truth... and loving what was there.   Seeing the potential in the broken pieces.  The worth.   The value.   The possibilities. Leaving people changed. Changed in such a way that there was no choice but to respond. Can you imagine it the way it was then? Can you imagine the sheer joy of the creation of Jesus?  The glory? For you created my inmost being;                 the creation... of Jesus... you knit me together in my mother's womb.                 a King... in the womb of a young girl... I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;       ...

What if the thing you are called to do does not look at all like what you thought it would look like? From fifth grade my strengths were pretty clear- as were my weaknesses.  I could diagram a sentence about as fast as I could trip over air.  And once I knew what those strengths were, I latched on.  I took great pride in honing my skill in language arts.  I took great pains to hide my awkward clumsiness.  Isn't that what we do?  Isn't that we should do?? Play up the things we do well.  Hide the imperfections. But where is GOD in that?? How can God be glorified in my weakness if I HIDE it?  How can He shine through if my PRIDE blocks out His light? What if the thing you are called to do does not look at all like what you thought it would look like? I thought I would write best selling novels.  I thought I would teach packed rooms how to twist a phrase into a new creation.  I thought.  I knew.  What my calling was. ...

Francis Chan says, "Something is wrong when our lives makes sense to nonbelievers." David Platt says, "We seemed to have organized ourselves, not to engage in battle for the souls of peoples around the world, but to indulge ourselves in the peaceful comforts of the world." Jesus says, "Therefore, go and make disciples of ALL the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.  Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you. And be sure of this: I am with you always, EVEN TO THE END OF THE AGE.” (Matthew 28:19-20) Being a missionary is not a calling.  It's a command.