Anyone who
does not gather in with Me throws away. Matthew 12:30
There is no neutral. No floating with the jetsam.
He would rather spew out of His mouth than settle for lukewarm.
And every day I get to choose to embrace the
golden sunrise and the Santa Catalina glints or to fix my eyes on the certainly
pitted roads and just try to maneuver through the maze.
Seth Barnes,
a friend from Wheaton who is in it for the long haul pilgrimage, a guy who is
always just one step ahead of us in small business loans, Adventures in
Missions, Listening Prayer and he even did a second Camino this summer, mulls over the lie of
safety. Of faux-control.
The
Mideast is turmoil. Death is in the air. And yet, on Lesvos and around the
world, the Kingdom is advancing.
It's
what Jesus promised us. He said, "In this world you will have
trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” (John 16:33)
Consider
this - if you are not experiencing
trouble, if you are not experiencing deep testing, then perhaps you are
irrelevant.
No,
it's not safe. Jesus is not safe. Neither does he want those of us who
follow him to be safe. He said, "the kingdom of God suffers violence
and the violent take it by force." When my eyes snap open in the morning,
he wants hell to say, "Oh no, he's awake again!"
I
love that we get to play a part in this great drama playing out on a global
stage. It is awesome to bring hope and freedom to those who have lost
theirs. It can be simultaneously awesome and terrifying.
Where
are you on this issue? Has safety become an idol for you? Do you feel the same
privilege and exhilaration in serving the King as he wages war on an enemy bent
on stealing, killing and destroying?
It kinda puts my morning dreads in
pitiful perspective.
No murmuring.
Let me set forth with joy and hope and
most of all, a heart of giving thanks, of seeing His goodness. May I be counted
worthy to pick up my cross and follow Him into the rising up.
Because
the needy are oppressed, and the poor cry out in misery, I will rise up,” says
the LORD, “And give them the help they long for. Psalm 12:5
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