One is from Mark Batterson, the pastor of a church on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., who always speaks and writes so movingly of turning your life completely over to God. Here are his words:
Quit living as if the purpose of life is to arrive safely at death. Set God-sized goals. Pursue God-ordained passions. Go after a dream that is destined to fail without divine intervention. Keep asking questions. Keep making mistakes. Keep seeking God. Stop pointing out problems and become part of the solution. Stop repeating the past and start creating the future. Stop playing it safe and start taking risks. Expand your horizons. Accumulate experiences. Enjoy the journey. Find every excuse you can to celebrate everything you can. Live like today is the first day and last day of your life. Don’t let what’s wrong with you keep you from worshipping what’s right with God. Burn sinful bridges. Blaze new trails. Don’t let fear dictate your decisions. Take a flying leap of faith. Quit holding out. Quit holding back. Go all in with God. God all out for God.
The second quote, also stimulating and encouraging, is from Craig Groeschel, pastor of a large multi-site church out in a suburb of Oklahoma City. He writes:
May God bless you with discomfort at easy answers, half truths, and superficial relationships, so that you may live deep within your heart. May God bless you with anger at injustice, oppression, and exploitation of people, so that you may work for justice, freedom, and peace. May God bless you with tears to shed for those who suffer pain, rejection, and starvation, so that you may reach out your hand to comfort them and to turn their pain into joy. And may God bless you with enough foolishness to believe that you can make a difference in this world, so that you can do what others claim cannot be done.
Reaching way beyond ourselves in our relationship with God, is what I would say each of these writers is describing. It is a life that we will never fully be able to achieve. And yet, sometimes, as Batterson and Groeschel say, we need to be all in and go all out with God at our side empowering us, and we need to foolishly believe that we can make a real difference in the lives of other people in what God is calling us to do.
Grace and Hope to you,
Pastor Duane
