Maybe
- Maybe I’ll get that job.
- Maybe this relationship will work out.
- Maybe I’ll find some peace.
Photo by nielssienaert
Maybe. The deadliest word in the English language. The word we use when we don’t want to say yes or no. Maybe is a word that has no commitment behind it. It is a word of inactivity.
Some friends and I were talking about our goals and what we wanted to do. I mentioned that I might end up working overseas or I might move out west. Indecision. The question begs asking. What have I done to remove maybe from this decision? How many trips have I made to the places I would like to work? How many people have I sought out that are doing the work I want to do? If I haven’t done the hard work of removing the maybe, then I shouldn’t complain when I’m stuck in the middle of it. Read more
Ambassadors that Get in the Way
“Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ,” the apostle Paul writing to the church in Corinth.
Ambassadors are chosen and sent to places with different languages and cultures. They are not residents, but are visitors in a foreign land. Some serve in places that are hard and the people hate the ambassador’s home country.
There are differences between terrestrial ambassadors and Christ’s ambassadors. Both are chosen, but as Christ’s ambassadors we cannot turn down an appointment. We are called to places regardless of whether our country has an embassy there. But even in our own country we are called to hard areas to be ambassadors. It might be the inner city, the suburbs, apartment complexes or even the country-side. Read more
What is Christian Fellowship?
Image courtesy of SpirosK
I find myself coming back to the idea of Christian fellowship again and again. Some people may think of me as that crazy uncle who rants about how things should be. I have to admit that it feels like I go to extremes on this sometimes. I have come to understand that I can be counted on to find what’s wrong with a situation. And I know that I can be the downer in the room when I start working through all the flaws in an idea. But as a friend of mine observed, I can also keep pressing people from becoming complacent because I can see there’s so much more ahead.
And that is where I find myself on the topic of fellowship. I know that so many times we are making mud pies and call it fellowship when God desires to give us a weekend at the beach, to borrow an analogy from C.S. Lewis. I think some of it stems from the frantic pace of our lives that we’ve forgotten how to slow down and enjoy relationships. We get so busy with activities, even activities with people, but we miss the bigger picture. Read more
Busyness & Community
Photo courtesy of mknobil
My small group befriended a refugee family from Nepal about a year ago. We partnered with World Relief to help the family make the transition to American culture and help them with their English. We offered to meet with them twice a week. For several months, we would have a couple different people each Thursday evening and Saturday morning go and work with the family. Last summer, we all got together and took them to the zoo. Another weekend we took them to the mall. Hindsight, I think we overwhelmed them with the mall. But they still talk about going to the zoo.
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