Monday, February 22, 2010

Over-hyped

Back in September when I first moved out of Wisconsin & down to Wheaton, Illinois I was invited to attend my good friend's church. Now this is the same friend who hooked me up with a job at LeaderTreks where he was working, and where I now work. So I figured if he hooked me up with such a great new job why couldn't he hook me up with a great new church?

Although as I became more and more immersed in my new job, and continued through the in depth training I became some what of a critic of public speaking, specifically speaking that entailed teaching from the Bible. Sunday after Sunday would go by and each time I would find myself more bored or annoyed than refreshed, challenged, or encouraged from what was being taught.Obviously this was something that I needed to change because going to church as a critic is not the right mindset.

This past Sunday I attended church, which was also the day after I had spent a little over a week out in New York leading my first mission trip with LeaderTreks. We currently are going through the book of John, but it is more so focused on a book called "The Voice Revealed". This book rewrites the book of John, and provides commentary and insight into the life and mind of John, who was the last living disciple.

This Sunday we were told that many of the people who had heard that Jesus was being proclaimed as the Son of God had trouble believing that based on where he was from which was Galilee. They said that the Son of God should come from a place that no one knows of. They probably were also struggling to believe that the Christ would come from such a lowly place as Galilee, and probably thought that Christ would come from a much more well known and prominent city.

Anyways, as I thought through the teaching I was challenged with the question, "Am I over-hyping the things that I want Christ to do in and through my life?" Let me repharse this. I have specific thoughts, desires, dreams, talents, burdens, passions, etc and I want God to use those through me to their full potential. But I began to wonder, am I only looking for the big & great things to be "from God"?

Things as simple as relationships, interactions with people on trips, compassion, and things I challenge myself with all were brought into this question. Perhaps instead of expecting this big, great, and grand thing to happen in my life (much in the same way that the people expected the Son of God to be from some magnificent place) I should begin to recognize some of the more simple principles that could have huge impact.

So as we all go through our days, looking to God to provide big things in our lives, let us remember the small things that can be the foundation for the big things later on, love those who need it (1 John), refrain from things that cause your neighbors to stumble (1 Corinthians), love those who struggle to open doors & allow Christ to be with them (Revelation 3:20), & know that God does not test us beyond what we can handle, but will always provide a way to persevere.

No comments:

Post a Comment