Day 2948 of the 7 day Bible verse challenge.

Mark 16:15 NIV

How?

You know, I spend a lot of time thinking about this calling we've been asked to undertake. I think about the gravity of this message we've been entrusted with and asked to share. I think about the urgency of it all in light of the undeniable realization that both time is running out and things around us are unraveling. I think about how at times it feels impossible to make a difference when most days it seems as if we can’t even make a dent.

I think about the already monumental odds and how they're seemingly stacking only higher against us with each passing day. I think about how our efforts often seem entirely insufficient and meaningless. I think about the ones who adamantly refuse to listen. I think about the opportunities that have passed us by without our seeing them. I think about the countless failures we've turned in. I think about the many times that these posts have fallen short of being good enough.

I think about the moments where we don't know what to say, what to think, what to try, what to do. But then I realize that even in those moments of having a loss of words by which to express our faith and explain the truths upon which it's built, God still wakes us up every morning to one more day, one more chance, one more idea, one more offering. And it's in that realization that God is still with us, still in us, still working and encouraging and leading and giving us these chances to make a difference that we find that maybe there is more going on than simply what we ourselves have managed to offer or accomplish.

This is one of those verses that almost has two sides to it. It’s both exciting and terrifying. It’s encouraging and impossible. It’s motivating and confusing. We get to go into all the world and tell others about our faith and maybe encourage someone somewhere to give their hearts back to the One that made them, that died to save them. But, at the same time, how can we possibly make that kind of impact when it seems as if most days simply fly by, leaving us barely holding on?

How can we go into all the world and tell all of creation about Jesus, and even more challenging than that, how can we possibly succeed when we’re in a world so clearly unwilling to hear anything we have to say all because what we have to say is different and offensive and largely unwelcome?

It’s not on us to determine how the road ahead will work out. It’s just about us following this road into each new day and making the most of every opportunity that new day may hold.

I was sitting in the car last night while my mom and sister ran in the store to grab them some dinner, and I just watched as this endless stream of people poured in and flowed back out. A thousand faces all focused on their lives, their plans, their lists of things to do. A thousand souls all busy and scattering throughout the day along a million different paths. A sea of people to which we've been called to share this Gospel we believe in.

How?

How do we do this? How can we accomplish this? How can we possibly be enough, do enough, make a big enough noise to even be heard amidst the chaos? How can we matter? How can we convince a million people that the Gospel matters? How can we convince a hundred people that the Gospel matters? How can we matter?

It's true that this calling given to us by our Savior seems impossible. But that's the thing about our Savior; He doesn't determine what's possible based on what we think we're capable of accomplishing. He doesn't measure success based on numbers like we're so accustomed to doing. He doesn't simply toss us to the waves and expect that we'll manage to figure it out. He doesn't call us to do something we can't do.

He simply calls us to do something that we can't do without Him.

We've all heard it said that God never gives anyone more than they can handle. Well, I've news for anyone who still assumes that, He does. He does give us more than we can handle. He does ask of us things that we can't accomplish on our own. He does lead us into situations and circumstances that are far beyond our capabilities or control. He does still call us onto waves upon which we know we can't stand. He does lead us into the furnaces filled with flames that we know are hot. He does still know where the lion's den is.

He just needs us to remember that He's in all of those places too. Which is why He calls us to tasks we cannot complete. Because He knows that faith is a living thing. It's not merely some theory or mindset or hopeful assumption. Faith is a cornerstone upon which the rest of our lives are built. And without testing our faith by leading us to trials and challenges and callings that are way over our heads, our faith will never be tried, refined, deepened, strengthened.

But our problem seems to be that we get caught focusing on the wrong aspects of this most central calling of our faith. We get stuck looking at the feedback we're getting from those around us. We get stuck studying the numbers and the turnouts and the sizes of the crowds that show up. We get focused on trying to determine the proper steps and layouts and organizational structures and labels and hashtags and fonts and designs and sounds and the overall production of it all.

And through it all, all these distractions and conceited efforts to measure up and gauge our success and ensure our best return every single time, it all gets muddied. It slowly stops being about how we can tell the world about Jesus, and in turn, it becomes about how we can make the world see us so that we can tell them about Jesus.

It stops being about the message and becomes about the performance. It stops being about the hearts and becomes about the ears. It stops being aimed at salvation and becomes about satisfaction. Because in this world at this time, we feel that in order to make a difference, we have to appeal. We have to offer incentives to reel folks in so that we can see that we had a good turnout. We offer coffee and doughnuts and concerts and tailgates in order to swell the crowds so that we feel like we're doing a better job.

All because there's simply more people involved.

When Christ asked us to go into all the world and preach this Gospel to all of creation, I don't think He did so with the expectation that we'd each come back with a million successes. I don't think He expected us to try and find ways to make His truth more appealing just so we could feel as if we'd reached more people. I don't think He expects us to offer Him a number of how many showed up. But I do think He's interested in how many were told the truth.

It's not on us to make the world a better place. It's not on us to fix all the problems we notice down here. It isn't our job to make the church feel like a funhouse. It's not our mission to save the world. Our only job is to tell the world that salvation is necessary, is offered, and is found in Christ alone.

Some do so from church pulpits. Others do so from bus stop benches. Some stand on the corner shouting a message through a megaphone. Others type out a message on a cellphone. Some preach to thousands gathered in ornate venues. Others share their experiences of faith with those on their shift at work. Some will reach hordes. Others may only be here to encounter one.

So how do we do this? We wake up every day that we have left and we try. We make the most of every opportunity we're given. We embrace the small chances to have an intimate encounter with someone else. We share what we believe with those we can, however we can, whenever we can. Be it in a church on Sunday morning or at a little-league baseball game on a Thursday. We live it. Every day, every moment, everywhere.

And in that effort relentlessly pursued by hearts willing to keep trying and to keep testifying, one by one, little by little, day by day, we grow closer to accomplishing what He put us here to do. And though it may look different, our own individual calling and the road He’s leading us down that leads us to the fulfilling of said calling, it all adds up to accomplishing what He calls us to do.

All of us are indeed preachers. Maybe not the kind that wear suits and present fiery sermons. Maybe not the ones with Youtube accounts and a ton of followers anxiously awaiting our next hot take video. Maybe not even the ones who are ever known, ever seen, ever followed or appreciated. Maybe we're just the ones who are meant to be in this place at this time to be a little bit different. Maybe we're just the ones who walk around with a light about us that the world can't help but want to know more about.

Maybe we're just the ones who are crazy enough to still think we can make a monumental difference in a world that doesn't even know we're here. Maybe we're just supposed to be the ones who live everyday trying as best we can to live and love like Jesus so that the world around us, even if nothing more than our families and coworkers, can see that there's something different about us now that we have found Christ.

We have to stop worrying so much about the big picture. That's God's. Our part in all of this is to simply remain willing, invested, and eager to take advantage of whatever opportunity may present itself. No, we may not end up changing the world. But if we tell one person about Jesus and they end up inviting Him into their hearts and they find salvation, then we've played a tiny role in changing their eternity.

And that's so much bigger than a millions followers or a sprawling church building.

Individually, we can’t tell the whole world. Separately, we may not feel like we’re doing much. Inside, we might feel as if we’re not accomplishing anything because we don’t have a ton of followers or a bunch of evidence that we can offer that shows how many people we’ve reached. In the grand scheme of things, it may appear as if we’ve achieved nothing that could come anywhere close to making a difference. But if love the world, if we share the truth of the Gospel, if we keep trying and keep faithfully following this road that He has led us down, then we will.

We will make a difference. We will make an impact. We will play a part in this story of fishers of men. Stop worrying about the size of the catch, and don’t waste time trying to figure out ways to pull more in. Just stay focused on going where He leads you, and trust that He will accomplish through that willingness whatever He plans to accomplish.

We don’t need to figure out how to make it work. We just need to trust that the path is there, and that the harvest will be exactly what He’s always known it would always be.

#LeaveNoSoulUntold