[New post] Living Life On Purpose: Simple? Impossible? Simply Impossible?
Sue Donaldson posted: "Seated next to the pretty young woman at brunch, I turned to her and asked: "So what are your dreams and plans?" "I don't know," she replied with all seriousness, "What I love doing is having people in my home and leading Bible studies. I've done it bef" welcomeheart.com
Seated next to the pretty young woman at brunch, I turned to her and asked: "So what are your dreams and plans?"
"I don't know," she replied with all seriousness, "What I love doing is having people in my home and leading Bible studies. I've done it before but now I need to move and I want a place of my own so I can invite freely."
"Julie," I said, "you are doing what God wants you to do! Now just go do it with joy and freedom. And I'll pray for just the right apartment."
I was impressed. Julie knew what she loved doing and she knew God's heart: making disciples, tending sheep, opening her home. She was living a life on mission.
You may not yet have Julie's confidence nor experience in following God's dreams and plans, but you have her heart: you want to be God's woman. You want to listen to his voice and follow his leading. But you're not yet sure what that looks like in your current circumstances.
The last words of Christ to his disciples were straightforward and clear: "GO AND MAKE DISCIPLES OF ALL NATIONS . . ." (Matthew 28:18-20 NIV)
We call it the Great Commission and put it in capital letters because we know Jesus's last words deserve all caps. But whenever we hear a message on the topic or come across those verses in our reading, we cringe a little or wonder how they fit into our everyday.
You might be asking: How does God want his commandment played out in my life? I'm not a missionary in a foreign country. I have three kids under three. I need to work outside the home. I have aging parents. How do I do the Great Commission right now, right here?
I've had those same questions. I still struggle wondering what God wants from me on any given day. I don't think he minds that things aren't crystal clear. He likes it that I'm focused on how to obey him best. He wants me to live a life on mission and how I do that will most likely look different from how it looks in your life.
GO, BUT NOT BY YOURSELF
I love that the GREAT COMMISSION starts with God and ends with God. You and I don't go by ourselves. He's with us. He never leaves us. He gives us the time, the opportunity, the words. We just step into those gifts. Reminds me of my WOTY - I RECEIVE these opportunities and wisdom and timing and words. Bring it on!
Jesus begins by saying, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me…" (Matthew 28:18 NIV) Then he wraps it up with: "And surely I am with you always." (vs 20)
Whatever we do in between those two truths is up to us to work out the best we can, given our gifts, time and talents. Wren Robbins has some good things to say about gifts from God in this week's podcast.
I have three girlfriends all named Jenny. They live on mission but they do so all their own ways.
Jenny F ( or Jenny#1) runs a café in town. Much thought and prayer is given to each decision she makes. She sees her staff as people to guide and love. She welcomes her customers as God has welcomed her.
Jenny K. (or Jenny #2) adopted four kids. She has God's heart for children—her own and the world's. She sews menstrual kits for young girls in Africa and runs the crafts for a foster kid camp.
Jenni L. (Jenni #3) sells skin care, sings on her worship team, and is auditioning soon for a local theater group. Her goal is to influence middle-aged women to be their best for Jesus, and she takes risks daily by walking out the talents God's given her.
These remarkable women live the GREAT COMMISSION distinctly and uniquely in their families, work, town and the world. All three check in often with God and one another to make sure they are doing all they can to further God's kingdom, and they take the words of Jesus to heart, "I will never leave you."
We can do the same. We go. We make disciples, using the unique framework of our talents, gifts and time. And what a comfort that God bookends our actions with his sovereignty and his presence.
WHERE DO WE GO?
A parallel passage to Matthew 28 is Acts 1:8—"You will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.'"
I figure my neighborhood is my Jerusalem. If I can't get that right, how can I go unto all the rest of the world?
I've lived in foreign countries, and we've had many students from abroad live with us. I know from experience that it's much easier to strike up a conversation about God with someone from another country than it is with the people you meet at the mailbox or while walking the dog.
"Unto all the world" started with Mike and Louise across the street. They came for dinner last Saturday. It was a little weird. We've known them 28 years or so. They've been over here in large groups or when Mike cut his finger and Mark stitched it up in the garage sans anesthesia. (Mark has his own style of loving our neighbors. I stay out of the garage at times.) But it was a beginning. We feel closer to them having sat across the table which is more intimate than waving across the road.
As believers, I don't think we only meet others' needs. We also present "the gift of our need," as Joe Aldrich writes in his classic, Lifestyle Evangelism. If I'm always the one to bring the meal or help with kids, and never show others I could use a meal or help with my schedule, I don't allow the unbeliever to see my true and vulnerable self. "Sharing common ground," writes Aldrich, "earns us the right to be heard." Our neighbors worked alongside of us through our remodel. They've helped find our lost dog. They've watched our kids and brought us meals.
When I sit in my quiet time chair each morning, I can see Mike and Louisa's house. I pray for opportunities to bring Jesus to them, whether it's something I say to them or do for them or need from them. They are my Jerusalem, and I'm grateful.
God may call you beyond the border or across the state. While waiting for the call, there's always that couple down the street. A call that's loud and clear.
WHAT DO WE DO?
As Christ-followers, we never need wonder what to write on our Daily To-do list:
"Go and make disciples," Jesus said.
I'm glad he kept the list short. I have trouble remembering long lists. It reminds me of another short list:
"Love God, Love your neighbor."
I told my dear husband I wanted to love my neighbors to Jesus, but I wasn't sure what to do about it. First, I said in no uncertain terms (I'm rarely uncertain)--
"Let's have the whole neighborhood for dinner!"
I received a classic Deer-in-headlights response from Mark, the poster child for introverts. I went on: "We have ninety homes in our neighborhood. If we host three dinners a week, dividing ninety by three, we'd be done in thirty weeks, not quite a year!"
I was game, but I wondered if I might lose my husband in the process. I also figured if we invited one family per month, I might still be making "casseroles serving 8-10" in Glory before completing the task.
I needed a new plan to carry out the Great Commission.
Remember the two fish and five loaves? Jesus worked with what his disciples found to feed the 5,000 and they didn't find much. (Matthew 14:13ff)I looked around to see what I had and what I had were LEMONS! Galore. Many Californians do. And maybe every third neighbor has a lemon tree in my neighborhood. Never mind, I went to work.
I bagged up some lemons, added a note: From your neighbors at 71 Mariposa, Sue and Mark Donaldson. I included a recipe to make it personal: "Dad's Favorite Lemon Cake." Why not? Cake does wonders for most situations. I left the little bags on porches. I passed out lemon cake to those who already had lemon trees. And I started getting bags of oranges at my front door. I was on my way to loving my neighbors and searching Pinterest for what to do with oranges.
In 29 years of living here, I had never had a conversation with my Pakistani neighbor, only a little "hello" here and there. The following Sunday, he stood on my doorstep, shyly handing me oranges from their tree, and a little note stating that they were grown without pesticides. Cute! He protested when I offered some lemon cake. I gave him two pieces anyway in a ceramic dish. That way, I thought, he will need to return it. He did, with more oranges.
I'm calling this the Great Neighbor Caper, with Lemons. Next, I'm asking God for a harvest of avocados from our tree.
If you are stumped not knowing how to carry out the Great Commission, start with what you have. God loves taking what we offer him and multiplying it for his purposes.
WHEN DO WE START?
My sister's life verse is Ephesians 5:16- "Redeem the time for the days are evil." (KJV) Another version shows clearly how to gauge our days: "Make the most of your time…" (NASB) And my personal favorite: "Making the most of every opportunity…" (NIV)
Time is a gift. God knows we always want more. But all he requires of our time, short or long, is that we make the most of what we have. I need to give him my day, my time and my trust. When I do, I am reassured that whatever the day holds, I'll be "making the most of every opportunity" for his kingdom.
I'm more likely to redeem my time when I pray my morning verse. I'm tempted to paint it on the ceiling of my bedroom so I don't forget to pray it before getting out of bed. "Cause me to hear thy lovingkindness in the morning, for in thee do I trust. Cause me to know the way wherein I should walk, for I put my trust in thee." Psalm 143:8 (NKJV)
Do you have a morning verse? Start with Psalm 143:8 and maybe some paint.
Bob Goff said, "My life goal is to be available." That's his legacy. Hear our conversation HERE.
I love that idea except when I'm busy doing something and would rather not be interrupted.
Living on mission includes interruptions. Look at Jonah. He was content working at home but God said, "Go to Ninevah." Obviously, Jonah didn't care for God's interruption. He eventually fulfilled God's direction, but he went the long way around and he wasn't very happy about it.
Living on mission includes going out of our way. Look at Jesus and the woman at the well. He could have skipped Samaria. He didn't. On purpose.
Living on mission includes complete surrender to God's timing. Look at Abraham and Sarah. They prayed. They laughed. They had a baby at a very late age.
Doing the Great Commission includes God's timing which is not always mine.
I texted a new friend from work: "Karen, want to come for coffee?"
A different Karen texted me right back, a Karen down the street, not the Karen I had in mind. "Sure, I can come now," she wrote.
Oh, no. I didn't mean that Karen and I didn't mean coffee, as in now. I was packing for a women's retreat where I'd be speaking. (I felt interrupted.)
"Of course," I wrote back, starting up the coffee maker, "come on down." And she did.
In the next hour I found out that this Karen had lost her mom to cancer when she was a teen. I learned that this Karen was expecting their first child. It didn't take long for me to realize that this Karen was not an interruption, she was God's appointment and she was right where she needed to be, at my table, at that time, sharing her life.
LIVING LIFE ON MISSION MEANS LIVING AT THE READY
What do you need to do to be ready to love your neighbor?
Clear your schedule
Pray and watch God interrupt your life
Bake a cake
Share some lemons
You may have paused with number one: Clear your schedule. I intentionally limit my meet-up's with believers. I love and need my Christian friends, and they need me. I met with Laurie Baldwin today. I'll meet with my mentor tomorrow. But in the end, I'll see them in Glory. I try to keep part of my schedule cleared so that I'm available to those who don't know Jesus yet.
I asked God how to love my neighbors, believers and non-believers alike, and this is what happened.
Josie needed a ride to the doctor's. And then again the next week. And then to the pharmacy.
Kim and Jeff asked for help weeding the strip-park at the end of the block. I don't garden but I enjoyed pulling weeds and getting acquainted.
Ruth needed a ride to work.
Mary needed a surprise birthday party.
Colin and Dash needed dinner and a TV with cable to watch The Bachelor. Every Monday night.
Marian needed to get out of the house and come for tea and cookies, along with Liz and Carol.
Christine needed to talk about mothering and a vegetarian lunch.
Katie needed a walk around the block with her newborn, Freya Valentine.
My adopted college student, Freya, needed to meet this newborn next door with the same name.
Josie needed advice on her son's wedding.
Cindy needed to talk about making her marriage more like she wanted it to be. We sat in front of a cozy fire and prayed through our marriages.
Some of these were interruptions. Redeeming the time, came to mind. I decided to not to worry about it. I had thought I needed to write another book. I still may. But today I'm loving my neighbors.
When we're available, we live on mission and we never have to wonder: Am I living out the GREAT COMMISION?
You are. With all capital letters. Mark was my helper this week in between the rain storms.
Here's my recipe for Lemon Cake. You can't go wrong with cake.
My Dad's Favorite Lemon Cake
1 lemon cake mix
1 small pkg. lemon jello (orange works, too - oh, and pineapple!)
4 eggs
3/4 c. water
3/4 c. oil
Topping:
1-2 cups powdered sugar
Juice from one lemon - 2-3 T.
Preheat oven 350 degrees
Mix cake ingredients per box directions including the jello
Pour into sprayed 9x13 cake pan
While baking, make topping:
Heat lemon juice on stove on low with 2 c. powdered sugar until sugar dissolves. Or, forget the heating part, and just whisk until the lumps disappear.
While cake is still hot, make holes 2 inches apart with a fork--lots and lots of holes.
Pour topping over, watch it soak in, and smack your lips.
Divine, surely. Heavenly tang and sweet.
After cake cools, sprinkle with powdered sugar.
PS Call a neighbor
__________________
Fellow writer, Carina Alanson asked me to be part of her 31-Day devotional. I'm Day 20! Check it out. I write on Expecting the Best. We expect the best when our expectations rest on God alone. "Now unto Him Who is able..." Ephesians 3:2
We just completed the season of love and joy. Your expectations of the holidays may not have measured up and you've already written on your 2023 planner: Next year, Hawaii—by myself!
1 small pkg. lemon jello (orange works, too - oh, and pineapple!)
4 eggs
3/4 c. water
3/4 c. oil
Topping:
1-2 cups powdered sugar
Juice from one lemon - 2-3 T.
Instructions
Preheat oven 350 degrees
Mix cake ingredients per box directions including the jello
Pour into sprayed 9x13 cake pan
While baking, make topping:
Heat lemon juice on stove on low with 2 c. powdered sugar until sugar dissolves. Or, forget the heating part, and just whisk until the lumps disappear.
While cake is still hot, make holes 2 inches apart with a fork--lots and lots of holes.
Pour topping over, watch it soak in, and smack your lips.
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