disciples of all nations). So, being a good engineer minded guy, I always felt that I needed to be prepared for this. So I needed to read books, I needed to have answers for the questions people might have (probably all organized in cool notebooks like Mitchem has). Well, while there are many answers and much knowledge that we can and should pursue, the core is faith. So by definition of faith, I won't be able to have all the answers. Without answers, even though I felt leading others to Christ was a responsibility of mine, I have done very little. The burden simply felt too great.
After having the truth in front of me for 40 years (The Bible), God is finally helping me to understand how this works. I can't create the relationship between people and him, only he can move people's hearts to him. I should devote my life to God so he can use me as a man on the ground to help him with these heart journeys. Being engineer minded, even as I write that, I think: 'Kind of sounds like mystical mumbo jumbo, what does that mean in my day to day life?'
This AM I ran across a story that I think illustrates this:
See the short slide show at this link.
- God moves Devak's heart to be the fertile ground when he hears the word while the rest of the village is not.
- The Pastor is a man on the ground bringing the word.
- God continues to move Devak's heart despite opposition.
- We are the men on the ground, providing $200 to change Devak's life with a rickshaw.
- God starts to move in the hearts of his parents, and other villagers.
I apologize for a long post, that probably doesn't make much sense. I have always struggled with our role. We appear to be the only ones doing 'action' but then the Bible says God is the only one who can bring people to him. How do we reconcile these 2 statements? For some reason, the back and forth in the story above seemed to illustrate it perfectly.
One day God may use my action of directly sharing the gospel with someone. The next day he may use my $10 towards a rickshaw. But he's not doing it on his own (I would love to unpack this thought some time), we can't do it on our own, and so the dance begins. I may not know all the steps, I may not be all that graceful, but I have a DEEP need to dance with the Lord, so I am shuffling my feet and crying out to him to lead. Do you think he will?
4 comments:
The "dance" with God.... that makes so much sense... We (I) always get caught in the "struggle".. We use words like "man up”, “put your faith into action”, “we are the hands and feet of God" in one conversation followed by words like "surrender", "Get out of God's way”, “die to self" in the next. It is really about the "relationship"... the "dance". So I am with Dyk, Regardless of how clumsy and awkward I am and how much I stumble, I want to be on the dance floor…. I believe he WILL lead.
This is a toughy. While this analogy does make sense, it seems to give me a lot of power. But then again, I guess I ultimately do have the power....the power to say "yes" or "no" to God. I have a lot of power. I am in charge.
And then I realize, What an awesome God I serve. Of course, I am "in charge" of my life. And yet, there is God, standing back and smiling, thinking, "Mike, you are a powerless fool. But I love you."
So, yes. Let's dance, but even though I need to wait for God to lead me, I also need to take initiative to get on the dance floor.
I haven't really thought through the whole analogy yet, but I like what you say about the power. The only power we really have is the choice. (But even that gets gray ...)
Hey look, Oswald had a little to say on this:
Is God’s Will My Will?
This is the will of God, your sanctification . . . —1 Thessalonians 4:3
Sanctification is not a question of whether God is willing to sanctify me— is it my will? Am I willing to let God do in me everything that has been made possible through the atonement of the Cross of Christ? Am I willing to let Jesus become sanctification to me, and to let His life be exhibited in my human flesh? (see 1 Corinthians 1:30). Beware of saying, “Oh, I am longing to be sanctified.” No, you are not. Recognize your need, but stop longing and make it a matter of action. Receive Jesus Christ to become sanctification for you by absolute, unquestioning faith, and the great miracle of the atonement of Jesus will become real in you.
All that Jesus made possible becomes mine through the free and loving gift of God on the basis of what Christ accomplished on the cross. And my attitude as a saved and sanctified soul is that of profound, humble holiness (there is no such thing as proud holiness). It is a holiness based on agonizing repentance, a sense of inexpressible shame and degradation, and also on the amazing realization that the love of God demonstrated itself to me while I cared nothing about Him (see Romans 5:8). He completed everything for my salvation and sanctification. No wonder Paul said that nothing “shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 8:39).
Sanctification makes me one with Jesus Christ, and in Him one with God, and it is accomplished only through the magnificent atonement of Christ. Never confuse the effect with the cause. The effect in me is obedience, service, and prayer, and is the outcome of inexpressible thanks and adoration for the miraculous sanctification that has been brought about in me because of the atonement through the Cross of Christ.
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