“Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation." Mark 16:15 That is one of the last statements Jesus ever uttered on this earth before He ascended into Heaven to sit at the right hand of the Father. When you're getting ready to part company with someone you love more than life itself (as literally proven, in Jesus' case), and you know you won't see them again for millenia, don't you think you'd take careful consideration as to what your final words to them are? I think so. I especially think so when we look at who Jesus was (and is): The perfect One. The Son of God. The Messiah. The Creator of the world. The Alpha and the Omega. The Beginning and the End. So, if we take into account who Jesus was (and is) and that He was giving final instructions to His disciples on how they should continue their work--His Work-- and how they should live, think, and act, how much weight should we put on these words? These directives? I've read these verses countless times, but only NOW am I moved to action. Thankfully, God is patient and works with me where I am, but when He's ready to move me...He moves me. And here I am...moved. Jesus said to "Go into all the world." "Go into" As believers, and often as church bodies, I think it's easy to get comfortable waiting for those who don't know the Lord to come to us. We provide great pastors, meaty sermons, top-notch worship, amazing children's classes, and a litany of high-quality Bible studies. We have hearts to serve and motivation to love others the way Christ loved. But. We do all of that within our 4 walls and that's where we tend to stop. And as I read more and more about who Jesus was on this earth, the way He loved people, and the way He was IN the communities and dwelt among the people, I'm convicted that we so often miss the mark. I miss the mark. Pastors, sermons, worship, children's ministry, Bible studies...they're massively important. They are. I believe that with my whole heart. I also believe that they're important components to a greater whole. They don't (or I believe shouldn't) stand alone. They shouldn't be our "GO TO" method for winning a world to Christ. What about all those who will never come within our four walls for whatever reason? I fall back on a lot of excuses when faced with the scary reality of going into the world:
Have I hit any of yours? Reading over those makes my heart beat fast and feel like a hammered thumb. Ouch. It's cliche to say that there is a waiting, hurting world out there that needs us. It's cliche, but it's true. Jesus made Himself available to the people in the communities He visited. He ate dinner in their homes. He looked at them when they spoke. He had mercy on them when they were hurting. He answered their questions. What if going into the world didn't necessarily mean preaching on a street corner, but it did mean making ourselves available and seen? What if it means getting to know those who look, act, think, and live differently than we do? What if it means, walking in our neighborhood, our community, and our cities, and praying for others as we see them? What if it means passing out water bottles or blankets to the homeless, police, firefighters, etc? What if it meant singing on the sidewalk about Jesus' love? What if it meant watching for people who struggle or are hurting and offering to pray with them? What if it meant being visible and open to conversation, even with a stranger, even with someone we would normally not give a scecond thought? What if it meant leaving behind the responsibility that "we" will save souls and instead we just make ourselves accessible? What if we choose to step outside of our comfort zone, unrehearsed, without expectation, and just be available? I feel uneasy launching into something like this without planning. And some planning should be done, for sure. But...what if we're at our most refreshing and approachable when we're without expectation and fumbling our way through it. Slick, polished, perfect images tend to inspire insecurity in others and a stand-offish-ness. What if we just offered who we are; nothing more, nothing less? And then stepped back to watch God show off? What if we took Jesus at His Word and actually went out into the world? I believe we would be floored with how many would, in turn, walk in our doors and fill up those four walls we works so hard to stay within. As Scripture says, 'Anyone who believes in him will never be put to shame.' For there is no difference between Jew and Gentile—the same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses all who call on him, for, 'Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.' Did you catch that up there? "How can anyone preach unless they are sent?" Being sent literally means: to allow one to depart, that he may be in a state of liberty; to order one to depart, send off.
Let's have beautiful feet, friends! Let's "GO" and be available to share Jesus with a world who needs it.
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I knew about a milisecond before it happend that it was a bad idea. I was using an old pair of scissors to pry the staples off the back of a picture when the rusty, dulled point slipped, taking with it a significant chunk of my thumb. By instinct, I dropped the scissors and picture, and immediately grabbed my throbbing, bleeding thumb with my other hand. I squeezed tight and slammed my eyes shut. I didn't want to look and see the damage. I didn't want to acknowledge that it had even happened. I held my breath and waited for the inevitable rush of pain that always lags a bit behind the initial injury. It didn't disappoint. My thumb suddenly felt as big as my head. My kids gathered around me, asking what happened and wanting to see the injury. I don't know about you, but when I get hurt--especially this bad--I become like a wounded bobcat. My fangs were out and I roared at everyone to leave me alone! I ran around the room, trying to outrun the pain, ignoring my kids' questions and needs in that moment. I was certain that I'd nearly severed my thumb and too afraid to confirm that fear. I was panicked, stunned, fearful, and in pain. Those are not the emotions of someone willing to handle a crisis in a rational manner. Later....much, much later...I was able to look back on that scene and realize how closely it relates to how I feel when I am wounded by a relationship, when I have a falling out, or face conflict. I typically react in all the same ways. I:
Do you respond this way as well? When you get hurt or encounter conflict, do you figuratively squeeze your eyes shut and worry about one thing: your wound? Does your main focus become yourself over anyone else, as you try to escape from, anticipate, and alleviate the pain? I've experienced this also from another perspective. I've watched as others get hurt and limp to a corner to nurse their wounds. They become consumed with their pain and how to make it better, forgetting that others around them have needs and hurts as well. It makes for a very one-sided friendship. As much as it stings, I'm certain I've done this to others. Suddenly, their whole world revolves around what they're going through and how they feel. Conversations with these people tend to revolve around their situation, rehashing (and rehashing...and rehashing) the ins and outs of it. Suddenly, the give-and-take of friendship becomes solely "take." What to do? My initial response wants to be to get angry and call the person out, but that would only make the situation worse. I think...and I haven't got this all figured out, this relationship/conflict thing...the thing to do is extend grace. Ugh. Yes, grace. That thing that we want lavished on ourselves, but dole out sparsely to others. Yeah, that. Calling out a wounded person for being self-absorbed will only add salt to the already gaping, festering wound. No good. Instead, maybe praying for and over that person and allowing them time to heal is the better choice? I didn't say it's the easier choice. Chances are (and hopefully so) when that person does heal and comes to us, the relationship won't be damaged or severed because we've drawn a line in the sand. Instead, we may actually hasten their healing with our patience, prayer, and grace. Here's to living life with copious amounts of grace that build beautiful friendships! If you'd told me 6 months ago where I'd be today, I would've belly laughed at you. If you'd sat down with me in our enormous home, sipping coffee as we overlooked the expansive landscape that was our "back yard," and said: "Mandy, in 6 months time, your life will be completely opposite what it is now: Your home will be a third of the size, you'll have no friends, no neighbors over regularly for bonfires, and no neighborhood kids running around. No longer will your trampoline be a gathering place for gaggles of kids, your back yard will be a 20 x 30 foot fenced space, and almost everything that made up "you" will be gone. 5 of your 6 kids will be enrolled in public school, you won't have a church home where you're actively involved, and the hollowness in your heart will be almost more than you can bear. No Tuesday night women's Bible studies where you get to watch relationships mend and grow as you share the Word and pray over the women you've come to love dearly like family. Your husband will thrive and soar in his new vocation, finally having a calling on his life that makes a diference in the world. Your kids will be gone 8 hours of the day, and the deafening silence both in your home and in your heart will nearly break you. But you'll be exactly where you're meant to be." Well, if you'd said all that, I would have kindly asked you to leave. And I wouldn't have believed you. But here I am...3 months into this move and all of these things are now my reality. Not every bit of the change is terrible, but so much change at once has buckeld my knees at times. What a reality check to learn how I derived my meaning and purpose. I'd hazard a guess that I put waaaaay too much stock in what I did over who God says I am. It was all stripped away. Just like *that.* Women's ministry leader? Now we don't even have a church we call home. We're still a bit unsettled in that area, and seeking where we "fit." Active community member? No longer is my husband on the soccer board or are we friends with countless members of our commuinity. No longer are we recognized wherever we go as that "big family with all the kids." Homeschooler? Almost all of my kids are now enrolled in public school and starring their homework is no longer on my to-do list. No longer do I get to see those "A-Ha" moments as they happen. Strong-willed Wife? With my husband's newfound career came a new-found confidence and he is really stepping up as the leader of our family. Sounds great until I have to swallow my pride and take my rightful position. Now my days are filled with different tasks and I hold a different purpose. I get kids up, fed and ready and then deliver them to a building of strangers who do what I couldn't. There is no humility like taking your children to someone you don't know and humbly admitting, "You will do this better than I can." There's no wound like admitting something that once fulfilled you and gave you purpose must die for something else to come to life. There's no fear like the FEAR that rises as you wave goodbye to your babies and send them off, all the while ignoring your churning stomach and the tears threatening to fall. There's no gut-wrenching feeling like assuring your littles that school is "good" as they cry that they don't want to go back, when you're not even 100% confident in your decision to send them. There's no loneliness like looking around at unfamiliar landscape all around you. Figuratively and literally. There's no discomfort like the pruning process where God strips you of almost everything and says, "This is for your good." And theres no where else I'd truly rather be than where He leads me. Depsite it all...the sadness, the loneliness, the fear, the anxiety...I trust Him when He says He has plans to prosper me and not to harm me (Jeremiah 29:11). I also believe it when He tells me that He is working it all out for my good (Romand 8:28). This is the first, tough step of many in a long road that will lead to good. I'm trusting in that. I watched as my three year old snatched the car from my six year old's hand. Then I saw my six year old attempt to grab the car back and a tug-of-war began. There was yelling and crying.
I interrupted to tell the three year old to give the car back. The six year old waited a beat and then grabbed at it again. I said, "I will handle this for you!" and proceeded to tell the three year old to give the car back again. My six year old was having none of it. He didn't even wait to see what his brother would do before grabbing at the car from his brother's hand again. I so often see God's lessons for me while I'm addressing my kids. Today's lesson? To really let God handle it when He tells me He will. How many times have I been the angry, wronged child in the situation and I insist on demanding or grabbing back what was taken from me? How many times have I waited a beat to let God handle it only to jump in and try to wrestle the situation to my liking again? It's easy to say "Let go and let God handle it," but it's harder to practically apply that. As human beings, we are required to make decisions in life. Even when we allow the Lord to take control of the situation, there are things required of us. We must pray for wisdom to know what to say, when to say it, and how it should be said. We must pray for the heart of the others involved, that God would soften their hearts and reveal to them any area they need to address. We must pray for revelation about any areas that we need to address and any ways our own hearts may be hardened. And we must pray for humility to put the other person first, even when it feels unfair. We speak to and about the other person(s) with respect, regardless of how they speak. What situation are you wrestling from God's Hands today? What is it that you need to let go and let God handle? |
Mandy is:Wife to 1. Mom to 6. Lovin' Jesus. Living' Life. Laughin' at the craziness of it all. Archives
September 2017
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Mandy Pagano