This thought has been nagging me, I need to expound on the last post. Buckle your seat belts, here is some of my manifesto.
I finished up last blog talking about deep change, heart-level change.
Watch out here’s the trap:
We think we have to do big things for God.
Allow me to clarify. Here is what I mean: in a desire to follow Christ, we try to do a big work and then label it ‘obedience’. We say let’s hold this huge concert to bring people to Christ, let’s build a mega church so people will be attracted to the gospel, or even let’s travel around the world in the name of Christ.
Wait a minute that last one sounded an awful lot like….
I struggled with this thought.
The thought: I was cramming Christianity into a formula, where I would initiate and God would respond.
Allow me to say, I had it flat backwards.
Christ initiates and it’s our choice to respond. There’s nothing wrong with building a church, having a concert, or doing mission work IF it’s in obedience to Him. When He initiates it’s HIS will, when we initiate it’s OUR will.
For instance, I can go out and build an ark, but that doesn’t mean there’s going to be a flood. Moreover, I could be seriously interfering with being used of God for His plans and purposes.
The Lord is a gentleman; He always initiates:
“19 since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. 20 For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse.”—Romans 1:19-20
One of the “biggest” changes we can make is to respond to Christ. Respond to His grace, His mercy, His love, His holiness, His majesty. At first, it might not look like much of a difference, but a change in direction affects every single movement following. It is the very foundation. How terrible to spend our lives tirelessly climbing a ladder of pursuits only to realize, at the end, we’d selected the wrong ladder?
A response to Christ is a change from selfishness to servant hood and there’s freedom in it…freedom from every other idol, master, false god, vain pursuit, addiction but the perfect King of kings.
I wrestled with the fact that this Race, for me, might just be a selfish pursuit to try do something big for God. With prayer, I realized Jesus is leading me into this venture. He is leading not because I am well equipped, experienced, or able. On the contrary, he called a broken man, me, to show His holiness, to do something only He can do.
This is where He is leading me.
Where is He leading you?
I challenge you to be obedient to God’s voice in your life and follow His will for your life no matter how big or small.
