I Don’t Like Urgent Things

I don’t like urgent things.  I like it when everything fits into my schedule and stays quiet and out of the way until I want to focus on it (which means never!).  The brakes on my car annoyed me a couple of weeks ago–they became urgent.  I thought that squeaking noise was simply some stubborn dirt on the brake pads and I never felt any need to interrupt my schedule to deal with them.  The squeaking became a slight grinding I noticed when the music was low and I figured it would work itself out.  Then one morning I thought my wheel was going to fall off and I realized that I could not drive my car any more until I discovered and fixed the problem.  My brakes became urgent, and I don’t like urgent things.

I also find missionaries and mission minded people annoying.  They seem to live a different life than I do. I’m worried about paying my bills and hanging out with my family.  Mission minded people are urgent, and I don’t like urgent things.

I’ve never been to Iraq but I’ve met some soldiers. They aren’t like me, and I have a hard time relating to them.  I’ve heard some of their stories about battle.  Battle is intense.  Battle is not quiet. Battle does not fit into schedules.  Battle is urgent and I don’t like urgent things.

Our Faith Promise rally is coming up and the theme is “We’re all in the Lord’s army.”  That’s a nice title for a once a year missions giving event.  I don’t mind promising money to urgent missionaries as long as I don’t have to interrupt my schedule or be too annoyed by missions minded people trying to make me urgent about this stuff. I have a life to live.

You’ve probably never said any of this out loud.  I’ve never said any of this out loud either, but I’ve thought it all. My wife got me started reading a book that I want to pass on to you. It is called “Radical” sub-title, “Taking back your faith from the American Dream” by David Platt.  It is an excellent book that I hope and pray every person in Anacortes reads.  Chapter 7 is challenging me to rethink my dislike for urgent things.  According to his stats on page 142, 4.5 billion people alive today do not depend on Jesus Christ as their source of life today.  1 billion of them have never heard about Christ.  He asks the question: “What will happen to them when they die?”

I have a lot of mixed emotions and thoughts when I answer that question, but it also causes me to question my dislike for urgency. Are we really in the Lord’s army? Does God really depend on my actions to help determine the eternal destination of people around me and on the other side of the world? Worse yet, could my inaction really influence the eternal destination of someone I know or someone on the other side of the world?  Doesn’t God have a backup plan?

Lord, I am very weak and unworthy but please empower me, my family and my church to be your witnesses here in Anacortes, throughout this country and to the ends of the earth.
Faith Promise Rally: March 17th & 18th