October 2, 2013
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After thought of the summer
I can honestly say that I spent over five hours publicly speaking about the ministry here in Uganda, while in the US. And if you know me in the least bit, you would know that I am not one to speak seriously in front of people. I am one hundred times more act out a comedy in front of a group, rather than be serious. So five hours, could have felt like an eternity. But thanks be to God for using my mouth for five hours. When I would have rather been making people laugh, I was being used by the Lord to give testimony to His work. (the funny thing is… if you were there for any of the presentations, you would have seen me try to reduce the time taken to meet the allowed amount because I could have talked for twenty hours!)
Even though I had that opportunity to talk, I often found myself at a loss for words. It was so common to be in one on one conversation and with no regard talk about sports, the news, and even pathetically, the weather. When I could have been talking about why the Lord still wants us… How often I get to see Him… Why He wants us in Uganda. I am a bit angry with myself. I had so much opportunity to give glory to Him. But instead, I gave honor to Miguel Cabrera, the current hunting conditions, my lasting passion for Crispy Cream Bacon Cheeseburgers, and so many other pointless things!
For some reason, in the land of plenty (aka the US), I decided to leave God (partly) at the terminal in Grand Rapids International Airport (GRR for those of us who speak that language). When people expected me to talk of His works, I was able. But when I had to muster up the mind/courage/excitement to talk about it, I couldn’t. I think I had spiritual Attention Deficit Disorder (sADD)!
Ok kids… what do we call this? Idolatry! Weirdly enough, five years ago I would have never noticed such a thing. Idols are not just statues or people we look up to, they are culturally developed, personally developed, satanically developed ways of getting the focus off of Christ. Things that will never stop tempting us, and can only be subdued by the Holy Spirit.
This isn’t just meant to be a confessional. I am not pretending to be in a booth and talk to some strange man through a mesh window at a catholic church (at least that is how Hollywood portrays it). I am just trying to point out that we need to return our focus to Jesus. It doesn’t have to take five years for you to recognize that Jesus is sitting next to you. He is listening to your conversations. He is watching what you watch on television. Don’t ignore Him, engage Him! He wants us to praise Him or there is no reason for us to be alive.
Romans 12:2 says, “Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.” That is what my prayer is for myself, and everyone else. If we are going to invite Jesus as God in our heart, we have to stop paying attention to all the others. The challenge is for me and for many of us, and it is that we need to choose to follow Jesus; we cannot do that while our focus is on everything else.
