Purpose

As the world changes

“We’re just waiting, waiting for the world to change”.

In his anthem justifying Generation X’s perceived ambivalence, John Mayer expresses what many of his cohorts believe – that the reason for their inaction is not lack of caring – it’s because they believe that with the current power structures their ability for effectiveness is minimal. So, it’s not that this age refuses to act, it’s just that they refuse to act until things change.

There may be perfectly good reasons for this position, but I’m struck by how different it is from what the generations before believed. Imagine if America never acted in War World II because they were waiting until peace was restored. Imagine if civil rights leaders never protested because they were waiting until full rights of citizenship were bestowed. Imagine if Mother Theresa never held the hand of a dying man because she was waiting for the cure for AIDS.

Right actions shouldn’t wait for circumstances to change. Right actions are correct regardless of the forces that impede them. This generation shouldn’t be waiting for the world to change. They should change it.

Continue Reading

Being Content

When Good Enough, Isn’t

And Joshua said, “Ah, Sovereign LORD, why did you ever bring this people across the Jordan to deliver us into the hands of the Amorites to destroy us? If only we had been content to stay on the other side of the Jordan! O Lord, what can I say, now that Israel has been routed by its enemies? – Joshua 7: 7-8

I write a lot about being content. To me, it’s really important to have peace with what God’s given me, and what He’s chosen for my life. It’s easy to spend so much time worrying about what we don’t have, that we neglect to be grateful for what we do.

Sometimes, however, being content is not what God has in store for us. Sometimes God desires for us to act in ways that may shake the normalcy of our lives. He wants us to follow His lead and to trust in the outcome. When the Israelites were destroyed by the Amorites, Joshua questioned why they couldn’t be content to stay on the other side of the Jordan. But God’s plan for the Israelites lives was to traverse the Jordan; being content with the “good enough” life on the wrong side of the Jordan, would have been the wrong thing to do.

And although I fear the times when God calls me to be un-content with the life that I’ve achieved, He’s always been faithful to offer me an even better promise on the other side of the river.

Continue Reading