Pursuing the Call

"Any vision worth pursuing will demand sacrifice and risk. You will be called upon to give up the actual good for the potential best. You will find it necessary to leave what is comfortable and familiar in order to embrace that which is uncomfortable and unfamiliar. And all the while, you will be haunted by the fear that this thing you are investing so much of yourself in may not work out at all." - Andy Stanley

February 3, 2009. The day we'll leave the South, all we've known, all that's familiar, all that's comfortable. We're often tempted to focus on the negative or throw pity parties, but in this season I'm especially reminded of what Jesus did for us. To enter humanity as an infant? To leave the pleasures of heaven for the cross? To experience separation from God so that we might experience eternity with Him? Yes, these are incredible sacrifices, and our recognition of them makes it much easier to follow God's call.

Not only does the recognition of Jesus' work give us courage, but it assures us of purpose and allows us to dream of how God would use us. What will happen in East St. Louis? We have no idea. But we can dream. It's our dream that our neighborhood will be transformed into a place where our kids can freely ride their bikes, and that they'll be taught-and even discipled-by the 14 year-old who is presently concerned only with football, sex, and the drama of gang life.

This Christmas season, I urge you to search out what God's purpose for your life is. Where is He calling you to sacrifice? To step out of your comfort zone? Is He calling you to follow Him to an unfamiliar place? It's hard, it's uneasy, and certainly uncomfortable-but step out, and God will draw you closer to Himself, and He will use you more than you can imagine!