Wednesday, 18 June 2008
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hi-ne-ni
Isaiah 6:8, "Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, 'Whom shall I send? Who will go for us?' and I answered, 'Here am I. Send me.'"
I was reminded today of the great commission in Matthew 28:19-20. "Therefore, go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age."
I realized anew that the term "missionaries" really is so meaningless. It is absolutely non-unique. Each believer is called to be a missionary. The US is in no less need of witnessing than China, Africa, Europe, South America, Canada, or any other country. We are all called to witness--no exceptions made.
Matthew 5:13-16 reads “You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled by men. You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven."What do we think gives us the right to sit on our bums and not do anything? Laziness is not and never has been an option.
God has not given us a difficult task to complete! The call to witness is not a call to be an amazing, good, wonderful, perfect, Godly person. We tend to think of "missionaries" or pastors or church-workers to be amazingly perfect and pure people instead of sinners, just like us. The task of being a "good Christian" is daunting. In fact, it is quite impossible. I'm reminded of a radio show in which one person tried to prove she was basically good by following a stringet set of guidelines--much like the Ancient Jews. Needless to say, she failed at her task.
We get to this point in our understanding of Christianity and we want to give up. Or we get stuck here. How am I supposed to become a "good" person? How am I supposed to become good enough for God? How am I supposed to change? We try so hard that we miss God's revolutionary truth.
It's not our job.
We can't change ourselves, try as we might.
That's His job.
And the more we try to do it on our own, the more we mess up and do things wrong. The book of Psalms emphasizes the necessity of waiting on the Lord. The metaphor of the "army of the Lord" gives two clear analogies of why we wait on Him. An army cannot move forward without directions--likewise, we cannot move forward without God's direction in our lives. An army cannot move forward without provision--likewise, we cannot progress spiritually without daily nourishment from God.What, then, does God call us to do??? If we can't improve ourselves, what are we supposed to do in the meantime? God's answer is pretty simple. Wait. Rest.
Jesus said that God's yoke is easy and his burden is light. The only thing that gets in the way of our easy load is our desire to do things on our own.I love the story of Isaiah. He wasn't seeking fame, glory, riches, or even an envious relationship with God. He was simply doing what God told him to do. In return, God used him greatly. Isaiah only had one request. "Here I am. Send me."
That's all it takes.http://youtube.com/watch?v=PlZOC3fdeus&feature=related
耶和华我的主啊 !
求你使我放下心中 心中所爱
耶和华我的主啊 !
求你使我打碎心中 心中偶像
直到我在敬拜中献上自己为祭
无怨 无悔 永不回头 永不回头
直到我在祭坛那里得着命定
无怨 , 无悔 我在这里 我在这里
Hi-Ne-Ni Hi-Ne-Ni
烧我 , 差我 , 我在这里
Hi-Ne-Ni Hi-Ne-Ni
烧我 , 差我 Hi-Ne-Ni
为这世界黑暗的角落
为那不曾被安慰的灵魂
我在这里 Hi-Ne-Ni
我在这里 Hi-Ne-Ni
Hi-Ne-Ni* Hi-Ne-Ni” is Hebrew for “Behold! Here I am”
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