Well it has been a week since we blogged, for many different reasons, mostly because our Internet has been spotty at best til last night, but also because extra time has been hard to come by.
I just spent 3 days away from my family and to be honest I absolutely hated it. I don't like being away from my kids, I worry every minute when I am not here. I know their dad will take care of them, make sure they get fed, go to bed at a reasonably decent time(unless of course the Cards are staging an amazing comeback in the World Series and then no one is sleeping on time) and that they are showering at least once while I am gone, but I still don't like it!
It seems here lately that every time I find myself saying I don't like something, God has this way of showing me another area in which I need to grow up. During this business trip there were many things I could say I really did not like, being away from my family, the hotel, the food. I could find myself complaining a lot. We have had to sacrifice a lot to move to Florida to start a homeless outreach and plant a church for people who don't necessarily like church. Then it hit me!
Why wouldn't we sacrifice everything? I have spent many years filling myself with Bible knowledge, read many, many books about being a Christian, chasing after Christ, but have I really done much of what I have read? I think I have done a really good job of putting God in a box, I made Him exactly into who I wanted Him to be, A God who gives me everything but costs me nothing.
The reality is that it cost God EVERYTHING to rescue me and to have a relationship with me. How can I not give Him everything in return? Why would I look at the circumstances that we are in right now, things like not having a permanent home address, Jeff not having stable income, sometimes even wondering if we will be able to pay this weeks rent as some kind of unbelievable sacrifice. It is not really! Jesus answered this question many different time in the Bible and on 1 instance made it clear in Luke 14 that we must be willing to give up everything including "our own life". What Jesus really wants us to do is count the cost, but he also wants us to see what is available to us if we are willing to "lose our own life for his sake". What Jesus has been showing me these last few days is that if I really want to live a life of joy and fullness than I must be willing to lay down my self again and again. God's call for an abundant life for me is not in things of comfort but in sacrifice and selflessness. There may be a price to pay emotionally, physically and spiritually for loving people that God loves enough to fight for! He loved me enough to fight for me, to sacrifice everything for me. Pray God continues to instill in us His Love and His Heart for people. Really what we are doing is putting our faith in a God who says I sacrificed my son for you to be with you and I AM WITH YOU.
No comments:
Post a Comment