Jesus Christ Messed Up My Life
I had plans. Well, it wasn't so much that I had plans to do something, but rather that I had plans to not do something. My dad is a pastor. He's been a pastor longer than I've been alive. So my plan was to never be a pastor. In fact, my plan was not really to be involved in anything other than going to church. Maybe. I had no intention of doing anything with my faith. I had my fire insurance and I went to church. Wasn't that good enough? Yes, I knew that technically a good Christian was supposed to read their Bible and pray, but I also knew that God wasn't going to kick me out for not doing those things. In high school, there were times that I would get fired up at camp and dedicate myself. Raise my hand, go forward, sing "Just As I Am". But then, I would go home and immediately forget about that moment. Sometimes, I would rely on that moment to show God how much I really loved Him. I would reason in my mind that I had made a decision for God, so that was living for Him.I remember many conversations that my dad and I had growing up, but I remember this one in particular. It was about college. I had thoughts of going to Penn State or to Cedarville University, but nothing real definite. I remember my dad saying to me, "Brad, if you just go and spend one year at the Word of Life Bible Institute, then mom and I will pay for your college wherever you go. If you don't go there, we will help you, but won't pay for it all." Well, no brainer for me, and off to Word of Life I went. My plan was to spend a year there and go on. Except one problem. Jesus got ahold of my heart and my life like I had never allowed Him to before. Next thing you know, instead of one year at Word of Life, I spent 6 1/2 years there and moved to Florida. I had told God before I went to Word of Life that I would never live in Florida. When I was on staff with Word of Life, I told God that I never wanted to be a student pastor. Funny thing, I still thought that I was in control of my life.
I speak to teens and adults all of the time, and there is so often a huge hesitation to fully follow God. It reminds me of Luke 9:57-62, "As they (Jesus and the disciples) were traveling on the road someone said to Him, 'I will follow You wherever you go!' Jesus told him, 'Foxes have dens, and birds of the sky have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay His head.' Then He said to another, 'Follow Me.' 'Lord,' he said, 'first let me go bury my father.' But He told him, 'Let the dead bury their own dead, but you go and spread the news of the kingdom of God.' Another also said, 'I will follow You, Lord, but first let me go and say good-bye to those at my house.' But Jesus said to him, 'No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God.'"
When I look at these verses, I see excuses. I see selfishness. I see lack of faith. For some reason, we all think that if we're going to really follow God, then He is going to make us be a missionary and send us to Africa to live in a mud hut. You know, that might be how it's played out. Or maybe He wants you to be a Sunday School teacher, or a pre-school worker, or maybe He just wants you to be the most missional banker or truck driver or mechanic or Wal Mart greeter that you can be. Maybe He will call you to be a missionary -- good! We need more missionaries. Maybe He will call you to be a church planter or a pastor. I hope so, because we need more! Maybe He will call you to open a coffee shop in New York City and provide a place for conversations about Jesus to grow and flourish.
Let me explain something about the disciples. In Luke 9:23 Jesus told them to take up their cross and follow Him. Many of us have heard this verse hundreds of times, yet we miss the implications. We think of the cross as a religious symbol. It is far from that. When Jesus said those words, the cross was an awful symbol of oppression, torture and death. If you saw someone carrying a cross through the city, you knew they were on their way to their death. They were the walking dead. When He said those words, the disciples would have thought about death, not church. They would have thought about losing their lives. Here's the kicker -- they chose to follow Him anyway. And we know, that all of the disciples were killed for their faith (except for John, although he was imprisoned). But they chose to follow and obey even though it ultimately meant death. But before death, they preached to everyone they possibly could. The were obedient to the Holy Spirit's leading.
In 2009 America, we get upset if someone is in our seat, if it is too hot or too cold; we won't share Jesus with someone, or even hand them a Gospel tract because we're scared that they will think we are a nut. We refuse to read our Bibles or pray. We get upset if the preacher talks too long or teaches something that we don't like. We won't remove ourselves from being involved with questionable activities. We won't put more that a few bucks in the offering plate (after all, we know the church is just after our money). We won't show up for Sunday school, Bible study, witnessing opportunities or even to help people park their cars. We won't talk to our neighbors or invite them to church. We won't try to actually live out the Gospel or apply God's Word to our lives. We won't volunteer at our church. We won't even come to the church building unless it is Sunday morning.
Can I be honest? I just don't get it. God has given everything to forgive us, save us and have a relationship with us. He has given us His Word that teaches us how to be more like Jesus. His desire if for all to have a relationship with Him, and for all to live for Him. He tells us, "Be holy as I am holy." Yet many times we don't even give Him a second thought in between church attendance.
So yeah, Jesus messed up my plans. And I am so grateful that He did. You will never regret living for Jesus, but you will regret not living for Him.
