The farm I grew up on, was a picture of tranquility. The coastal Raglan harbour surrounded it like a moat, cladding hundreds of acres of green green New Zealand hills spotted with sheep and cattle. I eagerly anticipated the rigorous lifestyle career coupled with the anticipation of working the family property with my beloved Dad until he retired.
But I was dogged with a vision: Do something with my life that eternity would think mattered.
It had been 12 months of pondering. Ywam training in Australia, DTS, missions outreach. Knowing God the father, sharing Jesus on the streets of Australia for two months. Creating moments with people in a way that issued respect, leaming to access lives graciously with a hi octane counter-culture message.
I was 23, and needed to decide. Should I take up the privilege of the property – it seemed responsible. Or should i take on something very God-pursuing, difficult, scary, unpredictable, uncertain, without income or any assurance of success – and that demanded my dependence on God? It was an evening team meeting, when Jason, our team leader, brought a word to us that was to change the direction of my life. Something like this….
“Caleb put in his request for his inheritance. His future. He had a choice. And that’s the point with our inheritance. He could have chosen …
The fertile coastal plains,
the easy wins,
the quantifiable,
the predictable
but didn’t.
Instead, he asked for Hebron.
He asked for the hill country, calling it a “mountain.” The land was rugged, inhospitable, full of enemies who were giants. Not exactly the American dream! He asked God for the toughest assignment He could possibly give him.
Caleb was a man who as God described “wholly followed the Lord”. Wouldn’t you like to be someone that God described in that way?
My life was in the balance. Between a predictable, normal responsible career that I’d prepared for some years. And a radical, unpredictable, uncertain, unsalaried, difficult future that exponentially amplified my dependence on God. Australia. The great commision. YWAM.
The flat land . Or the mountain.
That night Jason called it. “Ask God for the toughest assignment he could possibly give you”. And in that mother of all statements, I finally had my answer.
Once I knew the question, I knew also the preference of God.
Love God as extremely as you can by taking on the most intense assignment you think he could give you.
No matter what society sphere we’re called to, we’re created by God to love him and partner with him to redeem the world [Gen 12] and so any Christian who says they are bored – simply – are not taking enough risks. Great commission risks!
For me, obeying God, broke my heart.
It needed to be broken.
To bear my Dad’s sadness at leaving my country was very painful. The irony was that really I was standing on his shoulders. Following his great example to me over the years as he followed Christ.
God wants all of us, for all of the world. Sacrifice, for the great commission, to show our love to him in a deep, solid way shows our faith to be really, really real.
What tough assignment will you volunteer for this year?
“Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them….”
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