That Was Then, This Is Now...

The other day, I pulled out my old, well-worn Bible from my college days -- they were published without the usual "Maps" section, so were considered damaged, and therefore Bible college students could buy them for $2 a piece. Not bad! And the concordance was actually really good, so it was a fair and equitable trade-off for having no maps of Paul's missionary journeys. And the price was right.

Inside the front cover of the Bible, I had taped two articles that summed up what got me stoked, gave me juice, was jazz to my soul; the first I had included back in the late 80's, and the newer one around 2001. It's interesting to look back and see what others had written that really resonated with me.

That was then... (1988)

We understand following Him means absolute death to ourselves. It costs everything to be His disciple. [We ask God:]
Don't give us blessings - give us grace to be unquestionably obedient to Your every last command and desire.
Don't give us status - give us a place to serve.
Don't give us a mansion to live in - give us a springboard to take Christ's love to the whole world.
Don't give us good jobs - put us to work.
Don't give us comfort - command us.
Don't give us pleasure - give us perspective.
Don't give us satisfaction - teach us sacrifice.
Don't give us entertainment - enable us.
Don't give us good salaries - give us strength to do Your will.
Our great joy in life is in pleasing our Lord - and there is no other joy comparable. (excerpt from "We Are World Christians" by Gordon Aeschliman)

...this is Now

I am part of the Church of the Out-of-Control.

I've given up my control to God. I trust and obey the Spirit. I've jumped off the fence, I've stepped over the line, I've pulled out all the stops. There's no turning back, looking around, slowing down, backing away, letting up, or shutting up...

I am not here to please the dominant culture. I live to please my Lord and Savior. Sometimes I'm called to sharpen the cutting edge, and sometimes to blunt the cutting edge... I've stopped trying to make life work, and started trying to make life sing.

I no longer live by and for anything but everything God-breathed, Christ-centered, and Spirit-driven...

My face is upward, my feet are forward, my eyes are focused, my way is cloudy, my knees are worn, my seat uncreased, my heart burdened, my spirit light, my road narrow, my mission wide... I am organized religion's best friend and worst nightmare. I won't back down, slow down, shut down, or let down until I'm preached out, teached out, healed out or hauled out of God's mission in the world entrusted to members of the Church of the Out-of-Control...

My fundamental identity is as a disciple of Jesus -- but even more, as a disciple of Jesus who lives in Christ, who doesn't walk through history simply "in his steps," but seeks to travel more deeply IN HIS SPIRIT.Until he comes again or calls me home, you can find me filling not killing time so that one day he will pick me out in the lineup of the ages as one of his own. And then -- it will be worth it all -- to hear these words, the most precious words I can ever hear:

"Well done, thou good and faithful... Out-of-Control Disciple." (excerpt from Leonard Sweet's "A Magna Charta of Trust")

Someday, I'll have to write one of these in my own words!