Life's Mission

Have you ever read a story that seemed to just define you? I've been what most would probably consider to be a voracious reader all of my life. Even as a teen-ager, I would often go to the public library and load up on books.

Some of the books I've read have been quite memorable. The message they carried or the point I received was simply profound. Of course, others ... not so much. I can't even begin to count the number of books that I didn't finish because they were boring, couldn't get to the point, etc. I've never been a fan of fiction, for example. Life itself us far too interesting for me to waste time on someone's fantasy world.

Getting back to my point, the Bible is a book of books. We're told that these writings have the power to transform us in incredible ways --- both as individuals and as the group of God's people. To be honest, I never really understood what that meant. In fact, I'd asked several spiritual leaders to tell me what kind of transformation I could expect by "the renewing of my mind." (Romans 12:2)

But then one day it happened. I was sitting there reading my Bible and probably enjoying a hot cup of tea in the quiet still of the early morning. Reading along, there was some sort of cosmic explosion. My head spun, my mind reeled and the revelation I had just received literally took my breathe away. Let me share with you what it was that took my breathe away.

I was reading in the book of Exodus. As the story goes, the Israelites had just left Egypt a few short weeks ago. They were camped in the desert, and the Amalakites came to attack them. The Israelites were outnumbered and being escaped slaves, they were poorly equipped for battle.

Nevertheless, Moses sent Joshua out with some men to face the attackers. Meanwhile, Moses takes Aaron and Hur with him to the top of the hill where they can see the battle taking place. And Moses takes his staff with him.

Now the staff Moses took with him was no ordinary staff. It was indeed the one that he had used to part the Red Sea, get water from a rock, etc. He had performed some incredible miracles using this stick. (Imagine the price that staff would have fetched on ebay!)

So the thing is that whenever Moses held this staff up in the air, the Israelites would have the upper hand in the battle. But if his arms grew tired and he put them down, then the Amalakites would get the upper hand. When Moses and his men realized this, Aaron and Hur got on each side of Moses and held his arms up. In this way, the Israelites defeated the attacking Amalekites.

We sometimes talk about hearing from God, and I certainly had heard from Him directly on more than one occasion. This was an occasion where I read this story, and God said, "Larry, that's you. That's your role in this." Instantly, I saw myself holding up the arms of the men in charge. Never mind my own fabulous leadership skills and witty talent. I was born to hold the church leader's arms up so that he could prevail in the battles God calls him too.

That was years ago. Today, I'm in involved in several ministry endeavors. In some cases I mentor and disciple other men. In some cases I teach. In some cases, I even sing! But more often than not, where find my fit is in holding up the arms of the men who are leading the charge in the local church, in Christian ministries, etc.

I have to say that ministering to these men in this way really charges my batteries. In fact, if I won the lottery, I'd quit my job alright. But I'd quit so I could have more time to hold up the arms of the men God has called to lead His people. It's what I was made for.

Listen, we are in a war here. It's called "spiritual warfare." And the enemy is stalking, seeking to destroy us. But he will not win. Ever. Instead, God will call men and women to the task of leading the battles against this enemy. He will ordain, anoint and equip them in all sorts of ways. And He will call people like me to stand beside them, holding their arms up in battle. We come alongside of them, pray for them, minister to them, teach them, empower them, and bear life's burdens with them. And they win the battles.

Having found my life's mission, I don't think I've ever been as content as I am right now. For you see, when we operate in our calling and in our own giftedness, life is transformed into something that is nothing short of amazing.

So how about you? Has God shown you your life's mission in His Word yet?

Ministry Calling

In Christian circles, we have some "religious speak" - lingo that we use to describe different aspects of life in Christ. One of them is this notion of "calling."

Simply put, it means that someone believe God has called them (or someone) to do something specific. It could be as simple as a "calling" to fix dinner for you. Or it could be something as big as a "calling" to start a new ministry or a new church.

The thing is, when a calling is authentic, you know in the depth of your soul that it is God that is speaking to you. His Holy Spirit drags you into it and if you don't respond you know it's disobedience on your part.

The most typical types of calling I hear about (from fellow Christians) is to do something - like feed the homeless, go somewhere - like on a mission trip, or start something - like a new ministry.

Now the interesting thing is that I usually hear about these "callings" from God when the people whom He allegedly called are looking for help. They most often want money, but not infrequently they want you to dive in with them and help with the heavy lifting. The good news for them is that I'm generous with my money and usually like to help others. The bad news is that God isn't always calling me to whatever it is that He's called them to.

That's right ... God isn't always calling me. So what's up with that? Well, here's the thing. God created us to be in community with each other. He created us to be His servants - to exist for His pleasure. His plan is to work through us (obedient Christians). I believe we have to consider that when God calls us to do something, go somewhere, etc. In other words, He doesn't like to work alone ... and He doesn't usually like for us to work alone.

When God calls us to a task, He is also calling others to work with us. We need to look for those people - and join with them to build a beautiful house for God. So when I become convinced that God is calling me to do something, I should NOT ask, "Who has money that could support me?" We should not starting evaluating all our friends to see, "Who can I get involved to help me with this?"

The real questions we should ask are less obvious. When God calls us to a task, He has different answers. "Who else did God call to this particular mission trip, task, ministry endeavor, etc.?" Of those whom God called, "Who else (besides me) will answer that call obediently?" "Who else is willing to obey God like I am?" I believe these are the questions to ask.

It is summer time. The church mission trips are in full swing and the economy is in the dumpster. Existing ministries are dunning donors and potential donors desperately seeking funding to maintain their existing programs when the needs for those programs is mushrooming.

Many people that I know and love are asking me to support them in this or that mission trip. Just since the first of this year, my wife and I have given thousands of dollars to support special requests for mission trips. Sadly, we've had to turn most of those requests down. We don't have the capacity to fund them all - even if we wanted to. But the point we know for sure is that when we prayerfully consider each request, God often says, "No."

The truth is we are not all called to the same thing at the same time, or in the same way. Some of us are called to different things. I hope that those who are doing the asking will not begrudge those of us who must say, "No." I pray that they will turn to God and realize if He calls you to something, He has the responsibility to resource it. So true obedience to God's calling also means pure submission to God's plan for resourcing it.

We are never called alone. We are never expected to answer a calling alone. Perhaps we overlook those two points when we feel alone in our calling --- and get frustrated in our efforts to move forward - alone!