Monday, February 29, 2016

A Missionary In Ordinary Ways

A few years ago, I asked God for a mission statement. You know, something that would give me a higher purpose than just ordinary living. I love my life and I was in a pretty good place with my relationship with Christ but I felt...boring, unimportant, dispassionate, just bleh. I had friends that were being called to be missionaries in foreign countries, to eradicate homelessness in our city and be great bible teachers. And then there was me. Just a wife and mom in a small north Georgia town with a regular job. Don't get me wrong, I love all of those things, but they didn't feel important, they just felt...ordinary.

So I assumed I must be missing what God truly had for me, because I just knew I was supposed to be doing something great. Something special. something extraordinary. I knew the way to find out what that very special, very exciting, very passionate and extraordinary mission was to be was to pray, so I did. Fervently, consistently, faithfully.

I waited expectantly. I started to get excited knowing that with my persistence, God would surely answer with something great like, "you are going to write an amazing novel that will be a best seller and cause revival in our land," or "you are going to be a screen writer and be able to minister to the very lost and dark people in the entertainment industry with your deep and spiritually moving stories."

One day, God clearly gave me my mission statement.

"Your mission is to be a missionary in ordinary ways, in ordinary places to ordinary people. In doing this, you will have an extraordinary and eternal impact on the lives of those who would otherwise not be touched."

Can I be honest? I was really disappointed. I mean really? Be an ordinary missionary? In ordinary places? I don't get to write a great novel or screenplay or become a missionary in Paris (If I am dreaming about where to be a missionary, it might as well be someplace awesome right?)

Now before you go judging me for not being excited about the mission directly given from the Lord God Almighty, be honest. If someone told you your mission in life was to be ordinary would you be excited?

So I did what any logical person would do. I questioned the never failing, all powerful, all knowing Creator of the universe, "Really? Are you sure? I mean, I think I could do a lot more than that. I am a pretty good writer and I am a great public speaker. And I love You! Can't I do something more important than being an ordinary person?"

But God, you know that amazing Father who only knows how to do what is absolute best for us, does not operate on logic, well, not tiny finite human logic anyways. He operates with a mind that can  understand concepts like eternity, black holes, the space time continuum. He knows where the snow is stored in summer and knows what's at the end of space. He thought up things like DNA, curly hair, blue eyes, ocean waves, blow fish, vultures and llamas.

So after a few more sessions of my self righteous questioning of God, I finally just sat still and allowed God to let this new mission statement sink in. "Okay God, I am ready. Show me this mission you have for me."

In that quiet place, I heard God say that my mission was to serve in ordinary places and ways, not to be ordinary. My job was to be quietly extraordinary, secretly extraordinary. What you do in public, for public praise, the praise itself will be your reward. But what you do in private, only for the Lord to see and know, you will be praised in public and for eternity.

God clarified to me that what He wanted from me was truly amazing and special. He was telling me to show His love not to the masses through a best selling novel or movie; and not to the children in Africa or Paris. He has told me to love the overlooked. The next door neighbor that may seem like she has it all together, but is actually deeply hurting and is scared to death that she is just doing it all wrong. He asked me to be a friend to the girl at work who is pessimistic and critical or the one who is way too needy.

When I opened my eyes to what God was saying, it was like scales fell from my eyes. I suddenly realized that checking out at the grocery store was a very ordinary thing and maybe I could have an eternal impact on that grocery clerk in those few minutes. I starting praying for those moments to happen. I started asking God to break open her heart in the 3 minutes we were together at the check out stand and give me words that would speak living water to her.

The funny thing is words that speak living water don't always sound so spiritual. I rarely ask if they know Jesus or if they go to church. Usually God prompts me to ask about their story. Something innocent thing like, "Wow, you have an interesting name, is there a story behind it?"

Or asking the waiter that is serving my family at dinner, "So what's your story? Are you going to school, providing for your family, taking some time off to figure out life?"

At work, the ordinary ways can be as simple as always saying hi and asking, "How was your weekend?" and truly listening to the answer.

At home, it's making fried rice for dinner because that is what my daughter asked for. It's consistently telling my cousin how impressed I am with the man he has become, how blessed we are to have him live with us and that we are praying for God's perfect mate for him. It's giving my husband a little kiss or pat on his butt every time I walk by.

Truthfully, when I stopped looking at ordinary ways as not important, I started to see every little opportunity I have in every aspect of my life to show the unconditional, unfailing and ever important love of Christ to a whole lot of people. Ordinary people. The people that are normally overlooked because, well, they are just like me. And who am I to 'help' someone who is in the exact same boat I am in?

I am the person that God has chosen to do the job, so that alone qualifies me.

God has given me a mission and I am choosing to obey.

Expect the extraordinary. I have a feeling there will be a lot of it around here.

Tuesday, February 23, 2016

Christians, We Are Failing

I just came back from a week long conference in Southern California. Going to California is usually filled with two predominate emotions for me. First, I am excited for the weather. Always sunny, no humidity and a slight wind. My other feeling is dread. This begins by flying into LAX, the most chaotic, crowded, disorganized place on the planet. Then getting into a car and if you have ever driven in LA, then you know how crazy it is. If you haven't, just imagine what it would be like if a bunch of angry chickens learned to drive.

Overall, my trip this time was amazing! The conference was fun and inspiring; I got to eat some great food, had good coffee and met some wonderful people. But as I waited in the airport for my flight home, I suddenly experienced another emotion: overwhelming sadness.

I realized that, the majority of people who live in this city are sad, lost, a little angry and most importantly to me, living in darkness. They are in the 'city of angels' yet most don't know that angels are real. Most are walking around without any hope at all.

And who can blame them. For most people, the view of a Christian is they are judgmental, selfish and, well, downright mean. (disclaimer: I didn't do a scientific study, these are just my observations).

And friends, brothers and sisters, people who I love and plan to spend eternity with, please hear my heart. I am saying this with all love and because I know we are not that list of things above, but I do know that is how the world is seeing us, and that, my friends, is our own fault.

We are speaking much more passionately about our politics than we are about hope, peace and the love of Christ. We are known to speak out about the high cost of healthcare but not helping those who are sick. We are standing up opposed to the things we find immoral instead of shouting from the rooftops that there is light in the darkness, hope to the hopeless and love, unconditional love for the unlovable.

Are we so far removed from the person that we were before we met Christ that we don't remember how scary, sad and alone it felt to be lost? Do we think heaven might get too crowded so why tell anyone else about eternal life and happiness? Are we so comfortable with our every day mundane sins that we forget that they are just as horrifying to God as the ones that make the headlines? Have we forgotten the Beatitudes? Blessed are the peacemakers, the meek, the poor, the suffering.

Are we so bogged down in following the rules that we forgot to love the people? Yes, this is where I believe we have failed, friends. We have forgotten to love the people. The lost people, the hungry people, the angry people, the entitled people, the drug addicted people, the money hungry people, the gay people, the straight people, the weird people, the boring people, the people of the opposite political party, the people of a different religion, the people covered in tattoos & piercings and the people without any hope.

Jesus never scolded a lost person. He loved them, He ate with them, He wiped away their tears, He gave them water. He scolded those who claimed the same religion as His own. He didn't turn the money tables over on the prostitute or the tax collector, for them He showed love, kindness, and a better way of life. Not by telling them what they were doing was wrong, but by showing unconditional, unfailing, unapologetic love. And ultimately, by dying for our sins on the cross. They will know you by your love, is what the bible says; not by our moral standing, our political party or by our set of rules.

Who have you loved today that wasn't of your same belief, of your same political party, in your very own family or church? That person you know who is royally screwing up their life, have you loved on them through prayer, coming along side them, being a friend or providing for a genuine need or do you just shake your head and allow them to continue in darkness?

We have probably all heard the saying that we are all equal at the foot of the cross. What I fear is we forget is that we are all nothing more than dirty rotten immoral degenerates if it weren't for the cross. The only difference between a Christian and every other face on earth is the cross and our responsibility is not to show the world some sort of moral superiority, it's to show them that they can find hope, love and peace at the foot of the cross too.

Honestly, who cares if we 'restore this country to Christian values' or have laws that are perfectly in line with the laws of the bible if we are still living in a place full of people who don't know Jesus? What profits a man to gain the whole world and yet lose his soul?
Christians, please, express your views, vote for whoever you want to vote in office, but above all, be known for your love. A love that is indescribable, unconditional, indiscriminate and irresistible because it is the pure love that comes from the knowledge that without Jesus, we all go to hell, no. matter. what.

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