I’ve been a follower of Christ for only four years now, but I can honestly say that the last four years have been an adventure without parallel.
I sat in on a church service last weekend. The pastor asked his congregation, “Who here thinks of your walk with God as an adventure?”
No hands went up.
It seems to me that most Christians fail to recognize the adventure God calls them to. As Christ followers, we are not called to bunker down and simply hang on until the rapture. But instead, we’re called to join the mission of God in this world.
And what a mission it is.
Brokenness: The Need
We needn’t look too far to see brokenness throughout the world.
Sin. Darkness. Pain. Enslavement. Fear. They’re all there for us to see.
If we take a closer look, we see children orphaned and dying on the streets each day, without anyone to love or care for them.
We see men and women living hopeless existences, drug addicted in an attempt to numb their pain.
We see young girls––kidnaped, sold as a sex slave, and forced to service up to 30 men a day––pleading for a way to escape the torment of their enslavement.
And can even see old widows, with no one to care for them, lying lonely at night secretly praying for an end.
The poor, the needy.
Our family.
Our friends.
Our neighbors––both near and far.
They all need us. And they’re all waiting for us to take notice and do something.
God Wants to Use You
It still blows my mind that God chooses to use us to bring about His will upon the Earth. [Tweet that] Despite our imperfect motives and our sinful tendencies, we are called to be His hands and feet in this broken world. We are called to bring light to the darkest corners.
Jesus wants to use you.
He beckons, follow me.
And you have a decision to make.
Will you choose to follow Jesus, abandoning your own agenda and effectively embarking on the grandest adventure of your life?
Or will you choose to erroneously believe that your plan for your life is better than the one God wants for you?
Here’s the thing.
God created you with specific gifts and talents to be used for a specific purpose. [Tweet that]
You have a part to play.
And as I’ve heard Steven Furtick of Elevation Church say several times, you need to “Cancel the audition.” Pastor Steven truthfully points out in one of his sermons that you have already been given the part. You were created specifically for this part. And now, all you need to do, is engage.
You simply need to play the part.
Scripture tells us the church is to function like a body (1 Corinthians 12). Each part of a body is vital. Each part has a role to play in the function of the body. So it is with God’s church. We were all created with specific gifts and talents to be used for the mutual benefit of the whole.
There are many parts to be played in the kingdom of God. Some, by outward appearances, are small parts (though equally important and sometimes more vital). Some are large (though no more important than any other part). But all parts are vital to the mission of God.
Jesus is calling us.
Let’s engage in the mission of God, not as a means to gain approval from God or man, but because it is what we were created to do.
Just think about the impact we can have upon this world if we simply begin to play our part. [Tweet that] Change doesn’t happen by accident. We need to be deliberate, intentional followers of Christ. And then we will begin to see the darkness recede.
For truth be told, darkness does, indeed, flee before the light.
{Our relationship with God is intended to be an adventure.}
How about you? Do you see your walk with God to be an adventure? Share in the comments.
Unfortunately I received word yesterday that the man refused the backpack. I guess my adventure is over before it even began. Hopefully his will continue. : (
[…] Going on a journey with Jesus is quite an adventure. […]
I’ve always wanted it to be an adventure but I never felt God wanted to use me for anything. I would serve in ministries, try to start ministries – everything always seemed like a failure. But last month that all changed. I, too, lost my father to murder. I was 13 at the time, and I am now 57. I’ve been a Christian for 16 years. Three years ago I felt led to serve in Prison Ministry and again, everything led to dead ends. Last month, through a bizarre ruling by our Court of Appeals in Maryland, around 200 convicted murders still in prison from the 1980’s and before were granted new trials. Many were simply given hearings and released because of the age of the case, including the man who robbed and stabbed my father. He had been in prison for 44 years. My sister and I attended his hearing where we gave Victim Impact Statements. After telling him how our life had been affected, including the suicide of our older sister, I told him I had forgiven him – and I meant it. I then also found myself dealing with reporters and being on the evening news. I spent weeks trying to get this story to the public because it was being hidden. I have found myself on a roller coaster of emotions between forgiveness of the man who killed my dad and anger at our broken legal system that allowed this to happen. I also have an opportunity to send a “Welcome Home” backpack through the organization “Prison Fellowship” to our offender. It’s a new program designed to help newly released inmates. I bought the toiletry items on the list they sent me and they will pack a Bible in with those and sent it to him through his attorney. I fought tears in Wal Mart as I picked out each items off the list, but I know in my heart it’s what God wants me to do. I’m waiting to see what happens after he receives it. I have a feeling this is just the start of an adventure…
Karen, I love your obedience and the love you’re able to share with your dad’s murderer at a time like this. It must be very difficult for you, but what you are doing has eternal weight to it. I am so sorry to hear about your dad. A loss like this is beyond words, but God is redeeming it. And He will use your pain and your loss for good. Keep following Him down this very difficult path and I am assured that you will continue to see God’s redemptive hand in this terrible tragedy! Keep in touch. I’d love to hear about how the adventure you’re beginning turns out! I’m praying.
Hi Laurie! Wow, how could it not be an adventure? Mine has been that from the start. My treks into the mountains as an adventure junkie pales in comparison to my faith journey in following Jesus.
God used nature to draw me to himself. In much of my adult life, I escaped to nature–to get away from people, to have solace, for self-reward in having bagged another peak, even saying, ‘nature is where I go to church’. When I met our Creator God in 1997, I was awakened to the fullness of HIS GLORY and I was bowled over. Words like majesty, wonder, awe, order, chaos, peace, strength, fragile, gratitude unleashed their cosmic meaning unlike anything I’d understood before. I am thankful to have heard the Gospel at just the right time–when His grace came upon me–so that I would listen, believe, be freed, and step into the fullness of who He created me to be. Because of knowing His Father’s will and walking in perfect love and obedience, Jesus made it possible for us to have life anew, now and in eternity. He shed his blood for me.
Thank you, Laurie, for proclaiming with your written words the love, grace, and power of our God!! Shalom and love, dear friend.
Out of any Christ follower I know personally, I can surely attest to the fact that you certainly do consider your faith to be an adventure, and it’s catchy! What a blessing you are to all around you, Thelma! You inspire others to believe God for great things. Your faith is one to aspire toward. Thank you for being the example we all need!