Several years ago, my husband and I found ourselves with a
decision to make. He had unexpectedly
been offered a new job. The pay would be
slightly better, but it would require us moving to a new area, an area that we
knew very little about. I would have to leave
my job at a church I loved very much, my husband would leave behind a school
(and kids) that he loved very much, our oldest would have to begin kindergarten
in a new school system, our house would have to be sold, we would have to find
a new place to live that would accommodate us, our two kids, and at the time,
four dogs and two cats. No small
feat. To stay would have meant safety
and security, and maybe most importantly, familiarity. We prayed and prayed, and talked and prayed
some more. A few mornings later, as I
sat in line to pick our oldest son up from school, I read the following quote
in a Guideposts magazine: “A boat is safe in the harbor. But that is not the purpose of the boat.” And there was our answer. It was time to take a step in faith, and
trust that God was leading us to other things.
It worked out, of course. As it
turned out, the very next day, the DOT decided that they would need our home
for a new highway. We would have been
moving anyway. We moved to the new area,
a new church, and new school, and fell in love with the people and town. We have been blessed beyond measure in the years
since we moved, and now couldn’t imagine it any other way.
Yesterday morning, I read the text from Matthew 2:13-23
regarding Joseph’s dream and his subsequent flight with Mary and Jesus to Egypt
at the urging of God’s messenger. I
imagine that Joseph must have felt a great deal of anxiety and stress about
fleeing to Egypt. I’m sure where Joseph
was must have felt like a better place to be.
He was surrounded by people he knew, maybe even family, he had a way to
provide for his family. I’m sure it was
stressful enough being tasked to care for the Son of God under the best of
circumstances, and few would argue that fleeing from a murderous temperamental
Herod were anywhere near the best of circumstances, if albeit certainly the
best option. Nevertheless, Joseph
stepped out in faith, and followed God once again, and as always, God provided
for the needs and protection.
It’s interesting that one of the first actions of Jesus’
life involves “going.” One might say
that Jesus was always “on the go”. He frequently
traveled, delivering a message of love, healing, and forgiveness all over. We know, by mention of name, over 25 times-pretty
impressive, especially given Jesus’ relatively short time on earth and that much
of it occurred in a roughly three year period of ministry (not to mention in a
society without planes, trains, and automobiles). It should come as no surprise, then, that His last
words to his followers, before he ascended back to his place with the Father
are “Go into the world, and proclaim the good news.”
I guess you could say Jesus’ ministry was framed by
going. One of the first actions he
experienced as a child was going to Egypt, and the last command he gives is for
his followers to go and spread his message.
And in the middle, we find the example of how to do it, lived out by the
Son of God himself.
Shifting gears just a bit here, I’d like to give you a few
facts I've found about the world today:
Today, there are roughly 842 million people who do not have
enough to eat.
There are an estimated 153 million orphans in the world.
Human trafficking is
one of largest international organized crimes in the world right now. There are approximately 20 – 30 million
slaves living in the world today.
At least 80% of the population of the world lives in
poverty. Over 20,000 children die every day
as a result.
Nearly a billion people
entered the 21st century unable to read a book or sign their names.
Over One Billion people live with
inadequate access to water, and 2.6 billion lack decent sanitation. While less than 5%, there are still people in
the United States without adequate access to safe water.
There are 2.4 million in
U.S. prisons alone. Around 500,000
juveniles are brought in to the system in a given year.
A new year is coming. A time when we reflect on the past, and plan
what we can do better. These are but a
few of the problems that exist in the world around us today. What will we do to fix them? Where are you being sent? Maybe it’s time or work with some of the
many children in foster care, or maybe just spending some time getting to know
and mentoring some of the youth and children near you. Maybe it’s work in a food pantry or a soup
kitchen. Perhaps prison ministry? Maybe it’s here in your own backyard, maybe
it’s somewhere else. Maybe on one of
the many native American reservations here in the United States. Maybe in Appalachia. Maybe even the inner city or third world
developing countries. The possibilities
are limitless, and none, no matter how great or how small is less needed than
the other. It may take a baby step in
faith, it may take a leap or two. It
may even be frightening. I’m sure Joseph
and Mary were frightened-scared for their baby boy, and afraid of leaving the
familiarity of home for the uncertainty of a future in Egypt. But God doesn’t call us to safety. He doesn’t
call us to comfort. He calls us to
trust Him. He calls us to have faith
that He is calling us to something greater- to go and deliver the good news-the
good news that a savior has been born and that he loves even us, and offers us
a grace and forgiveness in that love He has for us. He
calls us to follow Him and His plan, just as Joseph did when the angel said “Get
up and go.”
As you make your New Year’s Resolutions this
year, I want to ask that you add two.
First, pray for each other. Pray
that the name of Christ will travel in love through each other, pray for
discernment that each may hear where God is calling them, and pray for those
who need to see Christ amongst the rubble and despair in the world around
us. Second, I ask that you commit to do
good this year in the name of the Savior who loves you and me. Take that step, large or small, in
faith. It doesn’t matter whether you do
it for one or one thousand. All are
precious in His sight. Even a pebble
dropped in the ocean changes the ocean. If
we all touch just one, there are that many more who have been served, and who
can then serve someone else. Love is
contagious, folks.
I leave you with this: Where will you show God’s love and goodness
when God calls you? What will you do
for Christ? Take care of going where he sends, and I assure you, Christ and his
love will show up and show off. It’s
time for the boat to leave the harbor.
Get up and go.
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