God doesn’t call us to change the world, he calls us to unhindered obedience. Sometimes the call may seem impossible or at the very least absurd. Consider Ezekiel who obeyed God’s call to preach to the Jewish exiles in Babylon. With that came an assortment of bizarre commands. God told Ezekiel to lie on his left side for 390 days as a penance for the sins of a rebellious nation. That must have seemed pretty strange to the Jewish exiles, not to mention the Babylonians. I’m sure Ezekiel was laughed at or at the very least ignored. He must have felt a little foolish, but still he obeyed.
So, what would compel a Missouri farm boy to move into an apartment in the projects of the roughest neighborhood in New York City? Why would a couple pack up their family and move to a remote corner of the world, far away from modern conveniences? What compels a teenager to raise thousands of dollars for moms and children she’ll never meet? The same thing that compelled Ezekiel to turn over and lie on his right side for another 40 days. God’s love for us compels us to obey Him and tell others about His greatness. By living our lives completely unhindered for Him, God can use us to accomplish great things.
Fortunately, we have the perfect model and inspiration for how to live an unhindered life for God—Jesus Christ. He showed us that with divine privilege comes divine responsibility. Becoming unhindered in our service to God requires us to become like Christ and sacrifice our will for the sake of Him and for the sake of sharing the gospel.
Jesus said, “Those who cling to their life will lose it, and those who are willing to let go of their life in this world will keep it for eternal life.”
Is there something you’re clinging to that’s keeping you from living fully surrendered to God’s will for your life? We may need to overcome some barriers before we can take Christ to others, but a good first step is to seek and pray for a personal encounter with God that will transform our lives and compel us to share His love with others.
In this issue you’ll meet missionaries and on mission Christians who are breaking from the crowd and taking a stand for Christ. Others are leaving comfortable homes and surroundings to serve those in need and make an impact for eternity. Each of the students and young adults featured in this issue have three things in common:
Heart – They have a heart for the lost
Feet – They are willing to go anywhere to meet needs and to work at any task no matter the challenge.
Actions – They live out what they say they believe and are living a missional lifestyle.
What would the rest of our lives look like if in the next few days and weeks we began faithfully to do what Christ asks of us: to love Him, to love our neighbors and to make disciples? A life lived in unhindered obedience to God has the potential to change the world.
Carol Pipes, editorcpipes@namb.net twitter.com/CarolPipes