Just Go

The day had been long and the last thing I wanted to do was climb into the driver’s seat, but we had driven separately, so there was little choice…or was there?  But it was in that moment that part of my pastor’s sermon from Luke 10 came flooding back to my heart. He’d talked about how when he first got his license, although he’d been chauffeured places many times before, he had no clue how to get there on his own. And from the passenger’s seat I sensed the Father whisper. “Yes, Sandy, it is easier to be driven everywhere, but if you want to go where I am taking you, you need to move over, otherwise this car won’t go anywhere…but the choice as always is yours daughter.” Or should I say the choice is ours?

That’s how I see the clear call to be a laborer in the fields that are white with the harvest. We can stubbornly remain in the passenger’s seat with a consumer’s mentality waiting for others to transport us or we can look beyond ourselves and consider the lost and dying world. Besides, to truly love someone it means that you’ll also love who they love, so I knew my decision was simple.

 Simple, not easy though. There’s always a cost to serve and a price to open your life to the possible rejection of others, but as those who have tasted of His love and salvation, it’d be inconceivable to not share the transforming message of Christ! It’s the reason we are still on this Earth and if we won’t answer the call to be sent then how will they hear? And if we refuse to go, then who?

Since his sermon from Luke 10 showcases the sending process, let’s take a closer look. The first thing we notice is that Jesus chose and appointed 70(or 72 depending on the version) of His disciples to be sent out. These were not random selections; they were specific individuals, sent to targeted locations. And we, just like these particular disciples have been hand-selected by Jesus. They had unique strengths and weaknesses and Jesus planned to use them distinctively to reach a certain population; also like us today. And it says that He sent them to the very places where He would be going. They would prepare the way for His coming. How exciting! We too are afforded the privilege to go before Him and set the stage so to speak for His upcoming visit to their unsuspecting hearts! And if we are listening to the sweet Holy Spirit, He will surely guide us to the fields that are white with harvest too.

Now this was to be a new season for the disciples. They were getting ready to embark on an unprecedented journey and I believe that believers today can also be on the cusp of a new season. In the natural we have to wait for the next season, but we can advance now when we submit yet another level of our lives to His direction. And together we’ll labor gathering the harvest and begin to grow in ways we’ve never imagined possible!

Thankfully though Jesus didn’t just throw them out there, He prepared them for their new adventure by sharing some guidelines and by giving them a new authority to use; a vehicle of sorts to get them (and their precious passengers) where they needed to go and He’ll do the same for each of us. To accomplish His goals we need authority to use the necessary tools and that’s true even in the natural. Don’t believe me? Just try to walk in a power plant or some other governmental agency and start touching their tools…you’ll get shown the door (or worse). Jesus knew that and that’s why He gave them the guidelines they needed.

Now that’s not say that their license had no strings attached to it. No, they had rules to follow and boundaries to protect. This is true with anyone who wants to drive a vehicle too. First you study the manual, take a written test, practice under supervision, take your road test, pay your fees and even then you must agree to abide by the rules of the road. And if you don’t, you’ll be fined. Well as believers, we are expected to study our life’s manual; the Bible, practice what it says under the Holy Spirit’s guidance, get tested every day through life’s experiences and when we don’t abide by the rules laid down, consequences follow.

No, what Luke was describing was no haphazard launching, in fact, this was a very well thought out mission because it was Jesus’ mission, not theirs! And likewise, the purpose of our granted license is to fulfill God’s purposes not ours! We get set free in Christ not to go where we want, but rather to be His hands and feet in this world. We are set free to serve! Our existence is about worshipping God, by giving Him glory though the joyful giving of our lives in service and just like the disciples, we have to choose to participate in the adventure!

And like the disciples, the offer of this sending is time limited; we are each appointed only a certain number of days on this earth with which to participate in the mission! They could’ve said no and I imagine, if we were very honest, we’d admit that we have said no to Jesus on various occasions, because in our heart of hearts there still lurks a part of us that wants to accomplish our mission and not His. But the fulfillment of our life’s purpose and thereby the greatest joy we could ever know is only found on His narrow path….but as always; the choice is ours.

Oh beloved, under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, with a divine license in hand, let us make the choice to clear the junk out of our car to make room for others, let’s move to the driver’s seat, shift out of Park and embark on this joy filled, Jesus-centered adventure into the ready and waiting harvest fields!