Great and Small part 2
When Moses was getting ready to go up against Pharoah--the supreme ruler of the land of Egypt in which the people of Israel were slaves--this conversation took place, "And Moses answered and said, But, behold, they will not believe me, nor hearken unto my voice: for they will say, The LORD hath not appeared unto thee. And the LORD said unto him, What is that in thine hand? And he said, A rod" (Exodus 4:1-2). God was giving Moses this HUGE job. And in order to prepare Moses for it He asked him what he had in his hand. Because Moses already had everything he needed. This is the same message that both John the Baptist and Jesus preached when they told the people to repent because the Kingdom was at hand. This is the same message we need to be preaching. Not, "If you act holy for long enough you'll earn the right to blah blah blah whatever." I think we keep people out of the Kingdom (if I can say it that way) by making the Kingdom something that has to be earned, rather than something we have already been given and simply need to receive. We all have something in our hand. In Moses' case it was a rod. In my case it's the keys of my computer. We all have something that we are uniquely suited to do. We all have people that we can reach in a special way. But sometimes we miss out on what we CAN do because we're focused on what we CAN'T do. We get so overwhelmed with what we're not doing--especially if we think we're supposed to be doing something BIG--that we end up not doing anything at all. There's a song I like that says, "Time is love." And someone sent me a picture the other day that said, "To a child, 'love' is spelled T-I-M-E." But I think we miss out on this simple truth about relationship... about just spending TIME with people... just being there for people... because we're too busy try to "save" them, or "help" them, or "fix" them. One of the most important things God ever revealed to me when I entered the ministry is this: What other people do is NOT my responsibility. I can't MAKE anyone do anything. And that was so freeing to me. I can counsel, and I can give advice. I can preach, and I can write. But that's my whole part. I'm not responsible for what anybody else does. All I'm responsible for is loving people. And that can seem like a small thing--just being there for someone--but I know that when you feel like you're all alone... someone being there for you isn't small at all. It's great. It's probably the greatest thing there is. So here's what I'm saying: Use what's in your hand. Do what you can do for the people you come into contact with. A lighthouse doesn't go looking for darkness. It just shines wherever it is. You're uniquely positioned, and equipped, to make a difference right here and right now! Just by being yourself and loving those people in your path!