"If you don't see the real me, you won't see what love has won..." Vota

Friday, December 31, 2010

What is it you are doing as an act of faith?

I read a book last night that I have been wanting to read for a while. I have looked in our church library for it, tried to check out the Ipod version online at the library (since I got an Ipod for Christmas), and have just been waiting to find it and borrow it from somewhere. Yesterday we were at Lifeway and Ernie picked it up off the shelf and handed it to me, so we bought it. Last night I could not put it down. This book is a powerful reminder of what our lives should look like as Christians and a painful glimpse at what a lukewarm Christian looks like.

This book challenges the reader to stand in awe of God-- praising His holy and mighty name and marveling at His magnificence. The book is Crazy Love by Francis Chan. Chan makes a point that this incredibly enormous God who created everything in such a way that no one has an excuse not to see His glory, loves us enough to know everything about us. HE loves us. In a crazy love sort of way He came here to die for us. If we know Him in this intimate capacity we will follow Him. He wants us to know Him this way and to love Him in such a remarkably radical way. This book (a great nudge after reading Radical by David Platt, which encourages the same evangelism) has made me ask myself a question just as Chan was asked in one of his classes in school. What am I doing right now that requires faith?

I posted this question on FB last night and have been thinking about it ever since. Chan tells the testimony of many Christians who have been transformed by Christ and taken the steps necessary to transform others lives through God. You know how they were brought up from the depths of sin and now they love so radically that they give up their lives and possessions to spread this love gracefully given to them to others.

Well, I have all the markings of the transformed life, but what am I doing to transform others by sharing this abounding love given freely to me when I never once deserved it, to others? What am I doing to spread the gospel of Christ to all the world and its nations?

As I live my comfortable and very wealthy life here in the USA, enjoy a choice of what's for dinner, have the privilege to go wherever I choose, freedom to worship openly, have a choice of which vehicle to drive when I go places, can afford to buy the book I read last night, I ask myself, what am I willing to give up to those who work an entire week to earn the amount I spent to buy a book I was finished with in less than 4 hours?

You know I could sit back and be affected by this book and wait till the opportunity arises and is laid on my lap with all of the instructions clearly defined and then make my move, or I could just make the opportunity for myself. The Bible says to go and do it (Go and make disciples of all nations baptising them...), not to sit and wait to be told again to do it.

So, now I am challenged and on a precipice and ready to get my feet muddy.

I don't know what God has planned for me, but what I really want to do is share what I have. What do I have? I have the love of Christ. I have a home. I have the means to support my children. I have a husband who is a great father, and wonderful husband. I have the desire to adopt, but not for the purpose of making our family bigger and better (which it would), but to give a child who has little chance to hear God's Word and live to spread it to others this chance-- a chance to have a Godly mother/ parents. Here is the crazy idea I have been thinking about.

Ernie and I have checked into adopting from Haiti, but as I have blogged in the past, we are not legal to adopt from there for I am too young. (Whoever thought at 33-- 34 in 18 days, I would be told I am too young to do something?) So here is my question I am looking for an answer to. What if Ernie and I were to bring over here to our homes children who are no longer at an age to adopt. You know 18 or 19 or so. What if we brought them here, made them a part of our families and taught them and sent them to college and gave them the chance that a child we could adopt would get years down the road? Is there a way to do this?  You know I have really been affected by the tales of girls in orphanages being aged out of the orphanage only to end up on the streets selling themselves as their only means of support. These girls have no other way to live when at 13 they are tossed out to make room for the younger girls. This really is the case in many orphanages. I've heard one of these girls who was blessed to be adopted just before this happened in Russia, speak about her circumstances and how God answered her prayer for a family. Does this not break your heart. These kids are praying to God who they may not know fully, and because I just sit apathetically around, they are thrown out into the streets and are never given the Gospel. I could be the answer to their prayers and they could really see God in action.

I want to be the answer to prayer. I want to be used by God. I want to go into all nations and make disciples. I want to take my girls and teach them to do this very thing. My goal is not to raise Godly children, but to be a Godly mother and to spread the Gospel and teach my children to do the same thing. It is not enough to just want. Now is the time to do! As I do this and do all I can to sacrifice and give freely the love Christ has given me to my family, friends, enemies, neighbors, children, parents, husband... I will be living by faith.

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