While attending seminary in Fort Worth, our family made a lot of sacrifices so I could get my education. One of those sacrifices was money. We didn’t have any. Well, not much anyway. We had two kids in school, Pam and I were both working part-time, tuition was expensive and things were pretty slim-pickens.
To make matters worse, we lived in Arlington just 5 miles from Six Flags, Water World and the Texas Rangers Stadium. It was tortuous. We just couldn’t afford to go.
Our son was fascinated by roller coasters. He was also scared to ride them. So, my wife came up with a genius solution. She would park on the service road beside one of the biggest coasters at Six Flags and let Justin watch. He would watch and draw to his heart’s content.
Watching roller coasters isn’t high on my list of favorite things to do. Mainly because that isn’t their purpose. They aren’t made to watch. They are made to ride.
In Acts chapter one, Jesus gave His disciples one final command before He ascended into heaven. To be His witnesses throughout the world. After he was taken up before their eyes, they watched as He ascended out of sight. And then they kept watching, until suddenly, two men dressed in white came and said, “Why do you stand here looking into the sky? He will come back the same way you just saw him go.”
Just like roller coasters, Jesus’ commands aren’t for watching. We may take pleasure in knowing them and being around people that are doing them, but there comes a time when we have to stop watching and start acting. His marching orders are clear. You can’t get any clearer than what He said to His followers in Matthew 28:19, “Go and make disciples of all nations.”
Unless God has specifically revealed to you something different. Unless He has told you to stay, He has told you to go. The homeless men, women and children at our shelters are counting on us to go. We can’t just watch them, feel sorry for them and hope things get better. We feed, clothe and shelter them. And then we look for opportunities to share the love of Christ with them. Because He is coming back … and we want as many people as possible to be ready.
