I've always wanted to be needed; to be important. Recognition, status, power…you name it and I've wanted it at some point in my life. God, knowing how much damage that would cause me, has been very consistent in giving me regular jobs to do that the average saint does.
One of my dreams had always been to lead some great ministry or pastor a church. I've never done either of those. Recently, I've realized (finally) that God hasn't asked me to do either of those. For over four years, I've been trying to reach my fellow sailors on board the USS Antietam, a cruiser out of San Diego. I've made lots of friendships, both with believers and unbelievers. Some of those relationships have led to opportunities for the Gospel, and I'm grateful for all of them. Three sailors have accepted Christ over the course of my time on the Antietam.
The amazing, and humbling thing is that those men didn't come to Christ as a result of any preaching I did or my leadership. The two that I was very involved in coming to the Lord did so because of relationships. The third essentially rejected my message, only to later accept Christ at the Rock Church in San Diego after our deployment. Any part I had in his salvation was based on a mutual respect and concern between us, not a powerful sermon.
You know what that means? It means that I don't have to be called to be some kind of super-Christian. I'm just an average saint, but God uses us all the time. I'm so grateful for that. He'll use you too, if you let him.
There is hope for you too…you don't have to be a superhero either, to be a super saint in God's army!
4 comments:
Great post man. It's so easy to get caught up in thinking of how much WE need to do, that we forget that sometimes the best thing we can do is listen to the Spirit and let it do the work in those around us. I loved the point you made about God using us wherever we are at. So true!
Matt...so awesome to see you at the blog! Thanks!
I spent countless years trying to earn God's favor. It just didn't make sense that he already loved me because I was His. I felt I needed to be in vocational ministry in order to matter, but that is not true. It just isn't. I can serve him wherever, and he'll do what he wants with me.
Just remember that it can take 7.4 times of hearing the Word before someone really gets it and takes Jesus into his/her life and heart.......that is a statistical fact. So each time we plant a seed may not be the one that comes to fruition in a dramatic way. Yet, we simply need to know that we are contributing......the Lord does the rest.
I've read statistics like that before and I accept that it's true. Once upon a time I would have been upset to hear that I couldn't be involved in salvation, but I've accepted my role now. Even more a reason to work wherever I am, as just an average guy, then try to be something I'm not.
Thank you for your post!
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