Such an inspiration! She left everything, her life at home, college, and a prosperous future for one simple reason… She saw in the Bible God calling her to work for Him in a place where children were dying. She’s now 21, with 14 Ugandan orphans that call her Mommy!
What if there were more young people like her? What if we as young people really committed long term to fulfill our mission as Christians? God is waiting for us! He’s waiting for our complete surrender and absolute commitment!
Aren’t we asleep? I listen to the words of the song… The music style doesn’t fit my standards, but the words so well describe our church today… We’ve lost our mission.
Asleep in the Light – Keith Green
Do you see, do you see
All the people sinking down
Don’t you care, don’t you care
Are you gonna let them drown
How can you be so numb
Not to care if they come
You close your eyes
And pretend the job’s done
“Oh bless me Lord, bless me Lord”
You know it’s all I ever hear
No one aches, no one hurts
No one even sheds one tear
But He cries, He weeps, He bleeds
And He cares for your needs
And you just lay back
And keep soaking it in,
Oh, can’t you see it’s such a sin?
…
The world is sleeping in the dark
That the church just can’t fight
Cause it’s asleep in the light
How can you be so dead
When you’ve been so well fed
Jesus rose from the grave
And you, you can’t even get out of bed
Oh, Jesus rose from the dead
Come on, get out of your bed
How can you be so numb
Not to care if they come
You close your eyes
And pretend the job’s done
You close your eyes
And pretend the job’s done
Don’t close your eyes
Don’t pretend the jobs done
Come away, come away, come away with Me my love,
Come away, from this mess, come away with Me, my love.
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Do we care? Will we put our work and resources and every fiber of our being where the need is? Isn’t it time?
Oh, yes. I’ve surrendered before, to be sure. Many times. I even thought I surrendered unconditionally! What a deception!
“But Lord, what if…” Â I’ve said this so many times.
Last year God showed me I wasn’t surrendered. Oh yes, I admitted it. But I was stubborn. I didn’t really care. I was in the midst of the most exhausting and taxing assignment of my life… so perhaps it’s understandable… but certainly not excusable.
This year God has been still teaching me to surrender, unconditionally… holding nothing back. Bit by bit, lesson by lesson, I’ve given Him more and more. Even if it hurts, I know He has my best interest in mind. Little by little, I’ve given more and more of myself into His hands.
Has He ever tested you? He tested me this week… I wrestled with the choice. I knew He was asking me to do it, but it just didn’t make sense. It was a contradiction. Abraham was tested too. I’m sure it didn’t make sense to him either!
I chose… To follow Him whatever the cost. I gave this area of my life completely to Him. I laid it all in His hands. What peace filled me! Hours later He showed me it was a test… Now it all made sense! Now I saw the whole picture and how he was leading me. He had confirmed my trust in Him.
But what if I hadn’t surrendered? What if I refused to give my all? Perhaps I would never have seen the picture as I see it now.
What about you? He doesn’t require it all at once. Its a process. But will you surrender your most cherished fragments of life when He asks for them? You know you want them, but He’s asking for them! Will you give Him your most precious possessions? Your plans? Your talents? Your time? Your energy? The most secret parts of your life? Â Your hearts inner desires and longings?
He’s still waiting, even now.
As I read, it fills me with interest. An unbelievable story… Is it possible? It’s an parable… with deep meaning. If only our priorities were in the right place.
Once upon a time there was an apple grower who had acres and acres of apple trees. In all, he had 10,000 acres of apple orchards.One day he went to the nearby town. There, he hired 1,000 apple pickers. He told them:“Go to my orchards. Harvest the ripe apples, and build storage buildings for them so that they will not spoil. I need to be gone for a while, but I will provide all you will need to complete the task. When I return, I will reward you for your work.
“I’ll set up a Society for the Picking of Apples. The Society — to which you will all belong — will be responsible for the entire operation. Naturally, in addition to those of you doing the actual harvesting, some will carry supplies, others will care for the physical needs of the group, and still others will have administrative responsibilities.”
As he set up the Society structure, some people volunteered to be pickers and others to be packers. Others put their skills to work as truck drivers, cooks, accountants, storehouse builders, apple inspectors and even administrators. Every one of his workers could, of course, have picked apples. In the end, however, only 100 of the 1,000 employees wound up as full-time pickers.The 100 pickers started harvesting immediately. Ninety-four of them began picking around the homestead. The remaining six looked out toward the horizon. They decided to head out to the far-away orchards.
