The Great Commission is not an invitation, but a command.  So, when we take it seriously, we find ourselves stepping into ministry, which compounds an already hectic lifestyle. So often, our unhurried moments with God become a casualty of war, instead of a conductor of love.  Where do we draw the line between our mission’s urgent call, and the deeper call of God’s Spirit to intimacy?

On God’s side it can’t be any clearer:  Come to me, come to me when you are strong, and when you are weak.  Come because love demands proximity, touch, soft voice and eyes that believe nothing can separate.  Come, there are few days left for us to deepen genuine intimacy.  Yet, so often the mission’s cry shouts above the quieter more humble Voice, the inviting and non-intrusive, the one that would never violate your will, and the one we take advantage of time and time again.

Can we genuinely love God and do His work, too?  Of course, you answer, because the work of God intrinsically bathes us in the afterglow of His favor.  When we see Him work, we know He’s close at hand, pleading his life through our surrendered selves.  But is this intimacy?  The temptation for all who minister is to form a habit of nourishing our souls on morsels of crumbs falling from the bread we offer others.  A steady diet of such will not bring the spiritual transformation you are praying for in the life of those you lead.  Let me explain.

Scientists tell us that we can live a lifetime without enzymes, that magical chemical found in whole fruits and vegetables which helps the body synthesize food.  The problem won’t affect you, but your offspring!  Likewise, if we are living on crumbs for nourishment, then we aren’t getting the enzymes our spirit needs to produce healthy offspring!  It’s subtle, because outwardly nothing seems to change.

Inwardly, however, the stuff of the Spirit has been sorely robbed, and what you think you are giving away in the mission can actually turn out to be empty words and vacant promises.  Can we keep love’s flame alive and take Christ to the ends of the earth?  Stay tuned.  On my next entry, I’ll talk about a secret found in the carousel, that amazing carnival ride that has kept kiddies giggling and amazed for over a century.