So You Want to Change the World?

We were never meant to lean back, take it easy, and simply soak in God's grace. No, his lavish grace compels us toward action. People are dying...without Christ. Friends, that should wreck us. And there are literally millions in the world in situations we can't even begin to fathom - trapped in slavery, starving to death, kids having guns shoved into their hands and forced to fight wars, and on and on and on it goes. We can not afford to ignore this. Something must be done. I absolutely believe that God wants us to enjoy life. To soak up the time we have with loved ones, to be inspired by the beauty of His creation, to savor the flavor of a nice juicy steak, to laugh and to love, and maybe even enjoy some football. But we also must remember that much is at risk here. And that life is short. We don't even know if we'll make it through tomorrow, so there is no time to waste.  God took six days to create, and one day to rest. The rest is incredibly important, but it's not our focus. I am guilty of wasting time and of not always having the sense of urgency I should.  At the same time, I'm learning that failing to cross things off my to-do list doesn't always equate to a wasted day. I often feel as though it does, but that is not always the case. Last week went nothing like planned. I had things to do, expectations to meet. But my poor dear wife hurt her back (herniated discs) on Monday and was barely able to move much of the week. Oh, she's a stubborn one and kept working despite my pleas for her not to. She tried so hard to let me do what I needed to do, but I just couldn't do it. So I allowed my to-do list to take a back seat and helped more with the kids, the laundry, the food, the cleaning, the groceries...you know, all those super-mom things we dads take for granted (ERIN IS AMAZING!). In addition, Elijah has required a great deal of attention as he is learning to control some rather severe anger issues (yikes). And we had a big event(PICS HERE!) we were putting on for our apartment complex which required several trips to Walmart and a ton of mundane tasks, plus a huge opportunity to join 3,000 Rwandans for Rwanda Day here in Atlanta on Saturday (PICS HERE!).   Oh how I tried, but virtually nothing on my list got done. I'm not complaining AT ALL.  We have such a blessed life!  I'm just saying that things usually don't go as planned...but that does not always mean it is meaningless.  So there are interruptions to our plans that may actually have purpose, but also: With every meaningful task comes seemingly meaningless grunt work.   We started our work with Apartment Life so that we could love our neighbors. Well, sometimes that means making trips to Walmart, or filling out reports, or working from the front porch so you can meet people. These things may seem unimportant, but they're actually dripping with purpose. We started our work with Africa New Life because our hearts break for the people of Rwanda, and we want to do whatever we can to help feed bellies and tell people about Jesus. Well, sometimes that means picking up the phone to call a bunch of people you don't know and asking them to pray about giving. It can be uncomfortable, but it too is dripping with purpose. Changing the world might not look the way you think. It most likely will require some unexpected turns and mundane tasks along the way. That's just part of it. It's not all glamorous or sexy, but it matters deeply.   Friends, we must live our short lives with more of a sense of urgency, because we are in an urgent situation. People need to know about your hope in Jesus! And people all over the world are in terrible situations, maybe even right outside your front door, and need youto step up to the plate for them. Every second matters.  I'm not so good at all this. I just know that I want to live life to the fullest and not overlook the purpose in the "small" things, because most of them are not so small after all. We really can change the world. -Jeremiah