(But if everyone did a drop, would it fill? Would it be enough?)
I think not. Because, we cannot even accomplish a drop on our own.
Only Christ can allow us to make a drop. Only Christ can help us "fill the ocean." ... only Christ can help us Make Disciples.
I am thinking about mission work right now. And being acclaimed or exclaimed over for spending 7 days or 10 days or even 80 days in a foreign country really isn't doing anything. Not by itself, anyway.
It's learning, if you are humble enough to leave your world behind and submit to other's.
And Learning is doing something...
but only God can accomplish something that will last for eternity, and I think He enjoys letting us help Him. (even though He doesn't really need it.)
Maybe it took guts to go on a short-term trip ~ good.
Well, it took a lot more guts for people to do the same thing 100 years ago before there was skype and airplanes and facebook and texting and email and video and snap chat and whatever else there is. (Sorry to burst your bubble... but I burst my own first. A short-term mission trip, while good, is easy-cake compared to what others have done before us.)
I guess what I am thinking is this: encourage the missionaries who are in the trenches daily, praying, working, praying, staying up late to visit sick believers, praying, getting stuck in incredible mud, and praying some more. They are the ones who need the exclaiming-over encouragement! Glory be Greater to God's Name for how they are partnering in His work!
Pray. For. Them. Send them notes of encouragement. Support them financially.
And I am not just talking about overseas missions... because "over-seas" I think sometimes gets glorified in a way that Jesus never meant for "the ends of the earth" to be lifted above "to Jerusalem and Samaria" (ie: our home towns.)
Overseas isn't any more nostalgic than our home churches. (Sorry to burst that bubble, but it was burst on me first last year... missions work isn't nostalgic. It's work.)
Just. Like. The States. Dirty diapers in the nursery; music that doesn't always go as planned in worship.
Please don't complain (I am preaching to myself.) Please just serve. Because if we all just picked up something and started serving and stopped criticizing (because our Pastors need our support, not criticism:) then things would go much smoother.
Thinking of smooth-going things... like transitioning from high school to college...
another thought... WHO decided it would be a good idea to ask teenagers, "What do you want to do when you grow up?" Well, that's ridiculous. Some of them may have it figured out, but most of us don't. And that's okay... because life is not really about what you DO, but who you ARE.
So let's start asking, "What do you want to BE when you grow up?"
And then listen to the answer... and as more people ask the Lord to make them who He wants them to be, there will be more kindness, more selflessness, more giving, more grace, more smiles, more hardworking adults, more respectful children, more gracious teens... because being molded into who Christ wants us to BE means we are being molded more like HIM.
And He IS kindness, love, grace, generosity, graciousness, respectful, and selfless. He Is.
He is so Holy... to even type His Name, Jesus Christ. What a privilege!
DL Moody said that every great movement of God started with a kneeling figure... be that kneeling figure. And if we all kneel, there should be a lot of Kingdom Movement started.
So next time you see a child or teen, ask them WHO they want to BE. Then pray for them to become who Christ wants them to be. He'll call His laborers. He will give us a heart to know Him, that He is the Lord. And we will be His people and He will be our God.
And we will come and bind ourselves to the Lord in an everlasting covenant that will not be forgotten.