You See Bones, I See an Army (cont,)

Up to my ears in taxes, but trying to finish this book by Floyd McClung.  Today we'll look at what is at the heart of everything we do.
Jesus said the parable of the sower gets at the heart of everything we do.  Notice how important Jesus ranks this parable in all of his teaching:  "But if you can't understand this story, how will you understand all the others I am going to tell?"

This story strikes at the heart of what Jesus modeled for his disciples, and what he expects of us today.  He sowed the seed indiscriminately and abundantly in all the towns and villages of Galilee.  He said there were going to be four responses: callousness-the hard ground; quick acceptance without depth-the shallow, stony soil; those who respond but then are caught up in the cares of the world-the thorny ground; and those who respond with depth and sincerity-the soft soil.

Here is what I learned a long time ago about disciple-making:  look for those who are genuinely open and want to grow, and invest lots of time and energy in them.  I learned that I am not responsible for making people grow who don't want to grow.  I love them and pray for them, but I don't chase after them.  I continue to love them and serve them while I look for those who are serious about knowing and obeying Jesus.

But loving people unconditionally and making disciples are two different things.  If we don't make a distinction, we will confuse the Great Commandment to love our neighbor as our self and the Great Commission to make disciples of all nations.

If we would love God with a pure heart and do the possible, God would do the impossible through us.

Disciple-making is looking for those God has selected for us to disciple and passing on what God has deposited in our lives.  It is the heart of everything we do that counts for God.

Building a disciple-making culture and birthing a disciple-making movement does not happen by accident.  Passionate people catch the fire that burns in them from someone else and in turn pass it on to others.

There is a valley of dry bones God wants to use, but those bones won't become an army until they are prophesied over.  The dry bones are the poor, the rebellious, the marginalized of society, the broken, the young, and-if they are willing to humble themselves-the rich and powerful.  For the dry bones to live again there has to be desperation for change.  The dry bones are those people longing for someone to believe in them.  They carry wounds, have been abused, suffer from AIDS, are widows and single parents; they look scraggly and are often so poor they have lost hope of finding a purpose in life. 

Having been a single parent for 13 years, (that's not me, btw) I sometimes felt like dry bones.  Inside I knew I had gifts and abilities, faith and obedience, but I sometimes felt people looked at me as something much less.  I remember being asked one day, "How was your Christmas?"  The words were fine, but the tone was, "You poor thing, you must have had a horrible Christmas."  If she only knew how awesome my Christmases were!  I remember being asked if I needed anything done around my house.  I so appreciated the thought, but I also knew that someone was viewing me differently because I didn't have a husband to do some things for me.  I guess you can't be treated totally the same as a married person when you're a single parent, but it was always my goal for my kids to have as normal an upbringing as possible, in spite of their circumstances. 

I have a great appreciation for my church at that time.  They looked past my broken marriage and gave me opportunities to serve in ministry.  Sometimes too many opportunities!  They made me feel whole and worthy.  They saw my potential and trusted me.  Though I was never discipled, God taught me greatly during those years.  Look past someone's circumstances and see them as God sees them.  God uses the poor, the foolish, the persecuting, the fisherman, the tongue-tied.  Who is in your life that wants to grow?  Pour yourself into them.

Have a blessed sunny Tuesday.