If you could obtain one goal from your life, what would it be? Or, if you could obtain one aspiration that you would like to achieve, what would it be? Every human being will be confronted to ponder these questions, and I assert the answer to these questions will directly influence the direction our lives will take. Perhaps, you have also been asked the question: What is your purpose in life? Or, if you are a student your mentors and advisors have asked you: What do you want to do with your life when you graduate? Where is God calling you? These are valid questions that we must be able to answer.
I can think back to my undergraduate years of study where all I desired to do was play the drums. In fact, that is all I ever did: play the drums and refine the craft of percussion—often up to 6 to 7 hours a day. Yes, I know I was a bit out of control, but my desire in life at that time was to become a professional drummer. I expected to be able to put bread and butter on the table by making a living playing the drums. That was my goal, desire, and ambition in life—not a bad goal to set, right? However, in the midst of searching for the meaning of life, I found myself looking everywhere for answers except to God. This time of my life was extremely empty and miserably. You might ask, “Why were you miserably?” You knew what you wanted to do with your life; what’s the big deal! The reason why I was miserable was because I had yet to discover the meaning and purpose of my existence here on earth. I didn’t know my Creator who created me from the very beginning, and I didn’t know what I was to do with my life. However, as soon as I surrendered my life to the Lord, another question arose, which I needed to answer: Lord is this Your plan for my life; is this what would most glorify Your kingdom and exalt the name of Jesus?
Friend, did you know that God desires to use you in mighty ways to impact and advance the Kingdom of God? The Bible says that every single person was created in the image of God (Genesis 1:27), whether you believe in Jesus Christ or not. Furthermore, I would like to challenge us with the following statement: God wants to work in and through our lives to advance the Kingdom of God here and now on planet earth. What part am I to play? How do I fit into the “big picture” of the puzzle? We can get an idea of how to answer these questions by looking at the current condition and state of the church.
One question that I have been wrestling with for quite some time is how some churches can thrive and attract people, and other churches die away. The sad reality is many more churches are closing their doors than churches opening their doors. American church statistics have reported that 3500-4000 churches close their doors each year.[1] Why is it that half of all churches last year did not add one member to their congregation through conversion growth? I’m not sure I have the answer to these questions, but I do believe I can present an antidote to the problem. The antidote can be found in Mark 10:43, which says: “...whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be slave of all.” Churches that provide opportunities for people to serve are those that will flourish in the Kingdom; however, those whose desire is to cater to the comfort of the people and allow them to watch and live passive Christian lives are those that will die away. Churches that want to be great in the Kingdom will be the ones who truly demonstrate a heart of service to the people of God. In addition, churches that want to make the greatest impact in the Kingdom will be those who become a slave to all. This is also true in our individual lives as well. Those that desire to be the greatest in the Kingdom must serve. It is not an option; the first shall be last, and the last shall be first.
Consequently, this leads me to ask another question, which happens to be the title of this article: What are you waiting for? Are you a Christian who likes to sit back and watch other people do the work of the Kingdom? Or, perhaps you have bought into the mindset that “doing the work of the Kingdom” is only for those who are ordained ministers in the church. Friend, being deceived into this mentality of thinking will not only hinder your own walk with the Lord, it will also hinder what the Lord wants to do in your life to expand His Kingdom, and to be God’s witnesses to all the ends of the earth (Acts 1:8). Our God is a mission-oriented God, and we have the remarkable opportunity to co-labor with the Creator to make a difference in our world. It is time to wake up, seize the day, and reach the lost for Jesus Christ.
It is not so much what we want to do with our lives as it is answering the call to what God desires to do in and through our lives. We must no longer sit in the pew on Sunday mornings with the expectation to hear a crafty message and to go through the motions one more time. It is now time to get busy producing for the Kingdom! The Bible says that even Jesus, the Son of Man, did not come to be served, but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many (Mark 10:45). Friend, if Jesus, the Son of the living God, was called to serve, you bet we are called to serve as well. May we be a people whose hope is in the Lord God Almighty, and whose desire is to turn everyday, ordinary seekers of truth into eternal producers for the glory of God!
So, again, I ask the question: What are you waiting for?
brian mcgee
[1] George Barna, Twentysomethings: Struggle to Find Their
Place in Christian Churches, http://www.barna.org.
