It's Not About You; it is Through You.
Jesus came to save the lost. He said, "For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save the lost." Luke 19:10
That's what he invites us to do, to join him in this work. When I first became a believer, I felt called to serve the Lord. I volunteered to serve in the new student building where the kindergarten through fifth grade children were to learn about Jesus.
I thought, "Great! I'm going to go serve. I have all of this experience. They're going to love me." I walked up to the volunteer coordinator, and she gave me a bucket and some rags and a sprayer and said, "Please clean all of the windowsills in the building as the contractor left them dirty with drywall dust."
I had a Puerto Rican moment. I was like, " ¿Qué es esto? Un momento!" I was like, "You see Latina all over me, and you think, 'Go clean'? What is this?" I had such an attitude. I did not want to do it at all, but of course, I took the bucket, and I took the rags, and I started cleaning.
As I was walking through this building, my sense of calling and my pride had become so intertwined that I confused the two. In my conceit, I argued with God saying, "I try to join you in your mission, and this is the job you give me! I have all of this experience, all of this knowledge, all of this wisdom. I am all that, and I'm cleaning windowsills?"
In my heart, I sensed God telling me, "If I can't trust you with this task, can I trust you with them?" My thoughts changed instantly. Little children come and hear about Jesus in this building. They hear about God's amazing power and wisdom. They hear about the truth of the gospel. They hear about the person God created them to be. While the world is speaking all kinds of lies to them, in this building, they will hear about God's love.
While I was there cleaning the windowsills, even in that little part, I was joining Jesus in his amazing work. But, my pride, my ego, my conceit had to go. My calling is not about me!
We get to join Jesus in the mission of bringing dead things back to life. We get to know who we are when we join him in that work.
Jesus said, "The harvest is abundant, but the workers are few. Therefore, pray to the Lord of the harvest to send out workers into his harvest." Luke 10:2
Every one of us is needed. You are needed. Leave your pride behind.
"Seeking a call that evades suffering is a decision neither to follow Jesus nor to live in the real world." Mark Labberton, “Called”
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