When I was a kid, one of my goals,as I recall, was that I was determined to dig a hole down into the earth until I came to the other side (of the earth, not the sod). I bet you that most kids have at one time or another thought that they could do this. What an ambitious goal. One lone person with one small shovel is going to dig his or her way to the other side of the earth, probably shovelling through in China (although I am not sure if geographically speaking that is where you would end up). I knew I would be amazed when I reached my destination, not because of the feat I had accomplished, but rather because I couldn't wait to see all the people standing upside down........
Kids have the most ambitious dreams and plans. I'm going to be Prime Minister. I am going to fly to another Solar System. I am going to find the cure for all the diseases in the world. Now, fast forward 30 or 40 or 50 years. I bet the dream now sounds something like this: I'll try to get to church this weekend, if I am up to it. I would love to help so and so but I just don't have the time. I would love to see our church grow but I don't know what to do. What happened to that great childhood dream of digging a hole? When did we move from one extreme of desire to the other? When did apathy and excuses get a foothold on us?
“I will give you as a light to the nations, that my salvation may reach to the ends of the earth.”
This passage is taken from the 49th chapter of Isaiah, from a section labelled as “The Servant's Mission”. It was part of our readings for January 15, 2011. The preacher on that day explained what the passage means. What I took from it is simply this: No matter how big a dream you can dream for yourself, no matter how much you think you are doing to help the world, God has even bigger plans for us. That is not to say that we are not doing great things, many of us are. But Isaiah is telling us not to ever become comfortable with what we are doing. Keep looking for new challenges. God's world is full of them, and it is our duty as God's people to rise up and meet these challenges head on. Together, with God's help, we truly can change the world.
No comments:
Post a Comment