My Pastor taught us back in September that there comes a point where in order to grow, we have to go out and take a part in the great comission. That is true of the church as a whole, for as more people are out speaking about the truth of God and showing people that there's redemption, then more people are drawn into the family of Christ at the local church. It is also true of us as individuals.
I have been going, in small ways, lately.God has enabled me to shed long-held fears of rejection, and I have decided to look at work as my mission field (which, by the way, if you have a job, you should too). I complained about this to the Lord at first, because a part of me loves intercultural interaction and for that very selfish reason I thought that I shouldn't be engaging in missions locally but should clearly be in some foreign country.
Of course the Lord challenged that in me. He pointed at my workplace and asked "If you don't go, who will?" Shut me up pretty quick, because God cares about the people at my workplace just as much as He cares about the Good News getting to unreached tribes in the remote corners of the world. And if I didn't obey and go where He was sending me, if I didn't come to His feet ready to serve the people He put in my life, who would?
So, I am learning to live the brave life of a missionary right here in my hometown. I am learning to love boldly those who have been rejected from workplace cliques (please note the present-tense of that verb, because I have not perfected this by any means, and only make the progress I have because of the amazing grace of God and my growing love for Him). I have had the opportunity to pray with a co-worker about emotional issues, have invited this person and her family to church, and have been able to encourage her towards the family of God. One of my biggest personal victories is that I have been able to hopefully speak truth about the Lord to another coworker who I think is looking for God, who wants to believe, but at the moment states that (s)he "can't".
It's amazing how everything is truly from God. It's amazing that the faith we need to believe is a gift, that Jesus was sent from the Father as a way out of our depravity, that the courage has started to take root in me is given me by the Holy Spirit of God Himself. That's amazing - AMAZING - that the SPIRIT OF GOD, with all His power and glory, is with us! AMAZING!
So, here's to 2012. To going more. To growing more. To serving and teaching and loving more. To MORE.
