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Monday, March 20, 2006
Article by Mary Biever
Our Unexpected Mission Out of the Wasteland
By Mary Biever
He was a simple carpenter. His life was measured in pieces of wood he
crafted into usable objects. His fiancée was a quiet girl who didn't get
into trouble, who would make a good wife.
Then the unthinkable happened.
She was pregnant. He wasn't the father. He couldn't raise another man's
child but didn't want to shame the girl or harm the baby. So he planned to
divorce her quietly.
Then came the dream. An angel of the Lord told him to marry the girl and
that her son would save his people from their sins.
Joseph's life changed in an instant. He married the girl and was the foster
father of a son he grew to love.
It was his unexpected mission. Unexpected missions from God aren't meant
to be easy. Sometimes it means delivering a baby in a stable because
there's no room in the inn. It could mean a sudden flight to Egypt - when
your very lives are at stake. Occasionally there's heartbreak, when a child
disappears in a large city and isn't found for days. Other times, the
mission brings kings with unexpected gifts to our doorstep.
When Joseph followed the mission, the life once measured in blocks of wood
transformed into one we now measure, chapter and verse, in the Gospels. The
hand of God took Joseph's simple life, turned it upside down, and changed
everything when this simple carpenter raised up the Son of Man as his own.
We can learn much from Joseph today. What does God want us to do when he
sends children into our lives? Sometimes they are our own children, and
other times they are the children of others.
He has a purpose and a reason for sending them to us. Imagine you, too,
have a dream where God tells you what that purpose is:
I have special plans for you. Turn off the television, get off the
computer, pull that speaker out of your ear, and listen to me. No longer
will your life be measured by reality TV, email alerts, or the latest MP3
download. When you hide behind those things, you miss knowing what life
really is.
Instead, I'm sending you a child. Raise the child up in the way he should
go. Talk to him about Me, from the moment the sun rises, while you walk
together during the day, and when you tuck him into bed at night. A child
has a few precious years before becoming an adult. I expect you to give
those years to him.
These aren't years in the desert. They are years out of your comfort zone.
You will get tired. He will get sick. You will get sick. Even when you're
sick and tired, I expect you to raise him up in the way he should go.
Nurture his talents.
You know all those things your parents didn't get right with you that you've
spent all that money in counseling sessions overcoming? Now's your chance
to make it right. Break the chains that bind you and do it better.
What if his talents aren't the same as yours? He wants to build rockets,
and you can't hold a hammer? Then find someone who can. Ask Me to send
help to you.
If you think you get stressed now, just wait.
Don't give me that stuff that you don't know how to do this or it's too
tough a job. Parents have raised good children for centuries. You can too.
When you need help, ask Me. Fall down on your knees if you have to and ask
for grace, for guidance, for strength, and for wisdom.
If you do everything badly today, ask for my help tonight, and begin again
tomorrow. Children's hearts give us room for second chances.
Ask, and it shall be given to you. You just have to wait, listen, and obey.
If I could trust Joseph to raise my own Son, don't you realize you can raise
children too?
Sometimes, I will send other children besides your own into your life.
Remember my son said to let the children come to Him. When I send them to
you, I expect you to be there for them. Give what you can. That, too, is
your mission.
Yes, there will be valleys as deep as the Grand Canyon on parts of your
mission. There will also be times on the mountaintop the height of Mt.
Everest, when you experience joy and love in ways you never imagined.
Remember that sometimes I send kings to your doorstep with gifts, just when
you need them the most.
Your life doesn't have to be measured in teaspoons, blocks of wood, or
gadgets and gizmos. It may instead be measured by how you answer My call to
you now.
Get out there. There's a child out there who needs you. There may be a
quiver full of children out there who need you. You need to stand in the
gap for those kids. I know what you can handle and how much you can do.
If you look closely into a child's face, you may see the face of My Son,
Jesus Christ.
Whatever you do for the least of these, you do for Me.
Mary Biever
www.marybiever.com
workshops@biever.com
Copyright 2006. All rights reserved.
3/20/2006 11:48:00 AM by Todd Bacon
2 comments
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