How often do we find ourselves waiting on an event to occur before we change anything? We wait for New Years Eve to start a new diet, we wait until next month to start a budget, we wait until our kids are older to take them to a specific place. We wait, we wait, we wait. In our Christian lives, are we waiting on something to occur before we commit to Jesus?
I often joke with people that I'm not doing something until God rolls back the eastern sky and tells me to do it. Really, I'm not particular about which sky He chooses to use, north, south, east, or west. God just has to do something spectacular to prove to me that this is what He wants before I'm ready to go down whatever path He has intended. Isn't that the way that we all are though? We want some watershed moment to occur before we choose to go down the path that God has laid out for us.
It seems like we are waiting on our very own Damascus road experience. We want to be blinded by Jesus before we embrace the light.
Why do we do this? I think in many cases we are scared of the unknown. We hesitate because we aren't sure what is going to happen, when it will happen, or how it will happen. It paralyzes us into inaction. We are convinced that our plans and thoughts are better than His plans and thoughts, so we bury it and go on. How many opportunities do we waste doing this?
Jesus didn't often tell people to wait. In Matthew 28:19, Jesus says "Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit". John 8:1-11 tells the story of a adulteress who Jesus tells "Go and sin no more." It was a directive to stop sinning now, to not wait.
Are we ashamed of what we believe? Are we waiting for that blinding light on the road to Damascus? God speaks to us every day, if only we listen. We have to devote ourselves to prayer and scripture, to daily conversing and communing with our Lord. It is through those small steps that our ears will be opened to hearing His voice. God isn't likely to blast a trumpet, send a wall of fire, or part the Mississippi to get something through to us (though that might happen, and it would be pretty cool). It is more likely that He is going to whisper to us and work through our interaction with others around us. Are you willing to go? Are you willing to say "Here am I. Send me!"
I've been around a few cattle in my day, even been run over by a couple. Never had this happen before though.
MANSON, Wash. (AP) - Charles and Linda Everson were driving back to their hotel when their minivan was struck by a falling object—a 600-pound cow.
The Eversons were unhurt but the cow, which had fallen off a cliff, had to be euthanized.
The year-old cow fell about 200 feet from the cliff and landed on the hood of the couple's minivan, causing heavy damage.
What struck me was that the cow fell 200 feet from the cliff, and still had to be euthanized. That's some tough beef.
How would you react to a cow suddenly appearing on the hood of your vehicle? Imagine the sound it must have made. "Mooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo... SLAM!!!" Wonder if the cow was charged with a MOOving violation?
Too much school, too much work, too many other things that need to be done. I've neglected this site and will probably do so for a bit longer.
I'm trying to refresh my outlook as well. I feel I've been too negative, too busy searching for targets to write effectively. So, no more of that. I'm going to steer clear of articles in which I'm attacking someone else and try to navigate into more edifying waters. I'm not going to avoid controversy, nor will I keep from skewering a point of view if it needs it. We'll see where we go from here. Here are some topics I'm working on that are coming up:
- Christian Hero Worship
- Science as Faith
- The Enduring Culture Problem
I've got another article that I'm really excited about, but it's not ready to hatch quite yet. I'll hopefully have it done in a week or so.
Thanks for reading!