When we first arrived here to Kotor, Montenegro we were informed that one of our goals of ministry was to invite people to church. Every Sunday we helped host church in an upper room at a local hotel. It was very low key, nothing overly flashy or impressive, just a few people gathered in the Lord’s name, worshipping Him with acoustic guitars and testimonies of how He has transformed our lives.
Our first service here in Kotor hosted just a handful of other believers in addition to our large group of 13. The room, although full of his presence, was a bit lacking in warm bodies. However, three weeks later after several days of pursuing the people of this town, building relationships with the locals, and publicly worshipping God in the streets, my beautiful teammates helped fill that church room to full capacity. Every seat was filled, and it was standing room only. It was a beautiful way to finish out our month here, to see God move swiftly through this city, and to admire all the people gathered in His name.
It was during that last service that I was, once again, overwhelmed by a reality God has been revealing to me this month.
There is something going on here that is far bigger than any one of us can truly comprehend.
I’ll preface this explanation by saying; this is another one of God’s lessons that I’ve always ‘known’ in my head, but never truly known in my heart.
A little over a week ago we went to a local missionary’s house for lunch and got into a discussion on ‘end times’. I know traditionally this can be a hot topic for discussion and debate, however the truth is, if you believe the Bible is the word of God and follow it as such, the end times are a reality, (that is something I myself, am still trying to process through and accept). During this discussion we began to reflect on all the current events, how Jesus’ return is something that could be happening within the century, and that our generation may very well be the one to bear witness to it. I don’t know anything for sure, and I am not the one to speak on the definites of His return, especially when the Bible says “But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father alone.” (Matthew 24:36). However, that discussion did spark a lot of interesting revelations.
The first being, if indeed His return is within this century. If indeed this world is falling to the crapper as quickly as it appears to be, we have a ton of work to do! There are millions of people around the world, and in America that are still hesitant to accept the free gift that God is offering.
And secondly, if we do indeed have this much work to do, why am I wasting all this time putting other priorities ahead of the Lord, when the truth is, those things will not matter give or take a few decades?
The Lord revealed to me the constant struggle between our ‘present self’ and our ‘future self’. These are two people driven by different motives, different values and morals, and more often than not, they are at odds with each other.
For example, our present self may hate school, find it boring, draining and stressful, but we know it will be of great benefit to our future self to finish, so we tough it out. But so often we don’t think of our future self in such high regard. We are a generation filled with impatience, (if we’re being honest). We want instant results and instant pleasures. We often value our present happiness over the potential of our future health and happiness. Think drugs, sex, and even tanning beds. These are all things we are told will hurt us in the long run, they will result in consequences in our future; pain, sickness, even death. But we are so focused on pleasing our present self that we rarely consider the happiness and success of our future self. The ‘school’ scenario is one example where society actually encourages us to put our future self first, but that is the exception to the rule. More often than not our society, especially our generation, puts our present self first, exhibit ‘A’: the YOLO craze. A trend that has unfortunately convinced a generation that it is okay to go out and get black-out drunk and have a string of one-night stands because, heck, you only live once.
Well how about this reality, you do only live once, and you only die once, and then you spend eternity either with God, in the most breathtaking place that puts the most beautiful landscapes on earth to shame,… or without Him in fear and desolation.
The truth is I wake up everyday with the choice to either serve my present self, or my future self. My present self wants to obsess over my appearance. Obsess over how I look, the complexion of my skin, the color of my hair or the size of my waist. But my future self will not be affected by any of these things.
The end will come whether it is in this century, or the next, (…or the next). The time will inevitably come when ‘these things will fall away’, the money, the cars, the house, the looks; and all that will matter is whether or not I rest my faith in the Lord.
There is something going on here that is so much bigger than us. I don’t fully comprehend it myself, but I see it when I stare at His stunning creation, I feel it when I stand at the edge of the shore and worship His name, and I know it when I witness a room full of believers from all across the world stand up and sing His praises at the top of their lungs.
There is something bigger here, something bigger than we will ever truly understand. No one can be forced to accept this reality, but the Lord has spent 10 tireless months showing me His glory in every corner of the earth, revealing to me His power in the most profound and yet simplest of ways, igniting my heart in ways I never anticipated, and moving mountains in ways I never could have imagined. He is so very real, an intimate relationship with Him is so very fulfilling, and He has so much more in store for me beyond this life and beyond this world than I will ever truly understand. All I can do now is say, ‘I’m in,’ rest my faith in Him, and enjoy the ride.
You Only Live Once – Do it for Him.
