Epilogue - Day 4 of 5: Some people have told me that reading about what we’re doing makes them feel like they should be doing something big and dramatic with their lives—like sell everything and move across an ocean (who does crazy stuff like that? 😜). But the Bible doesn’t say to do things that sound dramatic to other people or that make you feel like a good person. It says to follow Jesus, and that will look different for each of us.
There are big, life-changing steps of obedience and there are small, daily steps of obedience. A quote that I love says, "It is more important to do the right thing with what is right in front of you, to obey God in the present, than to make grand plans for obeying in the future.” (Mystie Winckler)
We have these big plans to move to Ethiopia next fall…but what about TODAY? How am I going to follow Jesus on this normal day, while doing all the things I have to do? The task of everyday obedience is the same for all of us—whether we’re getting ready to do something big and crazy in the future or not. Maybe it will be fighting to be kind to my kids instead of frustrated and impatient, doing work around our house with thankfulness instead of complaining, getting my head outside of myself to encourage a friend, opening the Bible and praying even though a zillion other things are fighting for my attention (and often winning).
Sometimes when my heart is stirred about how I should be living differently, I imagine this huge end goal and get all dreamy about that one day, some day vision…then it flops when I get jarred back into reality and go back to doing the next thing in front of me all the time. What if we table the big dramatic plans for a minute and think about the stuff we actually have to do day to day—and how we could follow Jesus in obedience in those everyday tasks. Small steps of obedience to start, asking God to guide us to the future obedience He has planned for us. #31daysofcalling #lovesinethiopia
“So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.” -1 Corinthians 10:31