I apologize for any typos, grammatical errors, etc. This is a first draft, straight from the heart, without even a second read through. I simply had to get this out. I tend to be overly perfectionistic with my writing, so I’m just putting it out there this time.
We live as spiritual paupers. We don’t realize the wealth available to us as children of God. We don’t truly believe that our father in heaven desires to give us good gifts, and therefore we justify our failures or inability to risk by those standards. Instead of pushing forward and risking for something greater, we stay complacent and experience mediocrity. Mediocrity seems to be the human default. Most of us don’t desire to risk. We’re happy with the norm–even when the norm is miniscule. We aren’t willing to attempt something great for many reasons. Fear of failure. Fear of opinions. Fear of humiliation. These fears control and disable our lives. Many of us are even afraid to simply stand up and stay something for fear of sounding different. We desire to be accepted so much that we are willing to sacrifice success in order to obtain it. We all want to be needed. We all desire to be accepted. We all grasp at affirmation. We are simply not confident. We are not confident in ourselves, in our abilities, or in our God. We, the Church, have spiritualized our mediocrity to the point of reducing our faith to mere intellectual ascensions or legalistic control. However, we’re desperately aware in our hearts that these practices do not change us or our world around us. Our hearts cry out for more–more power, more depth, more love, more acceptance, more grace, more mercy, more community, more life. How long must we continue to attempt the same things over and over again? How many times must we beat ourselves into submission to law? How many times must we reaffirm that X is true!? How many times will we have to fail before we realize the current status quo isn’t working? How many times will we need to read our bibles before we finally have eyes to see and ears to hear? We often waste years of our life waiting for the will of God. I submit that the entire time God has simply been waiting on us!
His entire plan from the beginning has involved a human partner. God has been active throughout the ages, but all the while looking for people who will rise up and partner with him. Adam. Noah. Abraham. Moses. David. These are simply a few of the spiritual greats of the past, but they all had special relationships with God. They were willing to walk with him. Listen to him. Argue with him. Submit to him. Flee from him and then return to him. God wants us to realize that we are his spiritual heritage within the earth. We are his image to his world. When will we stop sitting around and actually act like it!? When will we finally realize that we are the body of Christ, and as his body we can touch people lives. We can cry as they cry. We can laugh as they laugh. We hold within our lives the ability to literally change the world. We hold within our rejuvanated souls the power of life and death. Choose life! I submit this has been God’s cry for generations. I set before you the power of life and death. Choose life! He will never force that life on us, because then the power of choice is removed from us and it ceases to be love and becomes indentured servitude. Do i desire to be a servant to God? Absolutely! Does that mean I act like one? No! He no longer calls us servants, but friends. We have been born again into his family. We now, in our new creation, carry the DNA of Jesus Christ. And it doesn’t stop there! We are also adopted into his family, so that we might obtain our portion of inheritance. The father desires to give us good gifts, but he wants us to “cash the check”. Use what you’ve been given. Do you delight in teaching? Then teach! Do you delight in music? Then write, play, perform! Do you delight in children? Then start an orphanage! The choices are limitless; and it is that very fact that often debilitates us the most. “How do I know if it’s the will of God?” Do you love God? Will your choice bring grace, healing, love, truth, passion–Kingdom of Heaven–into the earth? Then do it! For far too long we have lived as spiritual paupers. You are a son or daughter of the King of the Universe! Go and be his representative.
Scotty P = well done, good and faithful servant..well done!