It was a beautiful,
clear day. The waves of Lake Michigan
crashed against the pier as the vibrant blue water stretched out until it
kissed the sky. Families stopped to feed
the ducks while fishermen cast their lines into the water. It was the kind of scene that seemed to be
cut straight out of a movie.
As we walked down the
pier extending into the lake, Kristy was overwhelmed by the beauty of God. I know that she was because she crouched down
and pointed out into the water and explained to Elijah that God is the One who
is so creative and beautiful that He not only created this amazing, gigantic
body of water, but also the very day that we were enjoying was created by God for
us to glorify Him by exploring His creation.
When Kristy was
explaining to Elijah how beautiful and creative God is, I was taken back some because
I was staring out at this massive body of water lost in wonder about how big
and powerful and good God is. There’s
just something about being confronted with the majesty of one of the Great
Lakes that has a way of putting me in my place; that is: understanding that I
am very, very small in light of who God is.
And in Milwaukee when you walk out on a pier into Lake Michigan, in
front of you is this gigantic lake, and when you turn around, you see this
majestic skyline. It’s just one of those
experiences that captivates your attention by seeing the glory of God.
While this scene played
out before my eyes, in the back of my mind I had another reason to feel
small. As we enjoyed a leisurely stroll
on a sunny afternoon as a family, my church family back home was engaging in
some serious service to our community through faithworks. I don’t know how many people participated,
but from what I read, over 100 work projects were completed, some 200,000 meals
packed for starving kids, and 40 people baptized. How incredible?!!
Why would this make me
feel small? Because it all happened
without me! Faithworks happened without
me, Faith Community Church is still going gang-busters without me, and the churches
that I am connecting with down here are doing some great things without
me!
Living in this tension
of recognizing that I am indispensable – and yet infinitely valuable because of
what Christ has done for me – is living in freedom. Jesus promised that He would build His church
and the gates of hell would not prevail against it. Jesus is building His church. Jesus is holding the universe together. God is reconciling a lost and broken humanity
to himself through Christ. It is His
work for His glory. And because He is
good, He lets us in.
The Kingdom doesn’t
hinge on me. The world will not tilt off
its axis because I’m not plugged in.
This is such good news to all who desire to invest their lives in things
that will matter, and matter forever. If
we understand this truth right, it won’t lull us into complacency, it will
thrust is into faith-filled service. If you
love God, if your heart has been gripped by the greatness of God and your
ultimate desire is to be close to Him and see Him move, then you are going to want to join in His work. When God changes our hearts through the gospel,
it changes everything.
I’m grateful that those
waves are going to keep crashing in Milwaukee and the hammers are going to keep
swinging in New Richmond and that through each, the name of Jesus is going to
be exalted for our good and His glory. And
I am overwhelmed that God invites a small, small person like me in!
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