Awaken to the Call
We often live,
ㅤ we approach life,
With an us-versus-them mentality.
We view others,
ㅤ those who are different,
With suspicion.
And so,
ㅤ we shy away.
We attempt to avoid.
We try to keep our distance.
If not physically,
ㅤ at least emotionally.
But…
Jesus approaches life differently.
Even as he travels toward his ultimate destination…
Even as he journeys towards the ending of his story…
He considers,
ㅤ he makes room to encounter,
Others.
He makes himself available to those who are different.
To those who might make us uncomfortable.
And…
He engages them.
He invites them…
Come follow me!
He challenges them.
Challenges them to move from a life of seeking ease,
ㅤ into a life with meaning.
A life with a sense of something greater.
With an awareness of an authority outside of themselves.
He invites them to share life with him.
He invites them to live life with him.
He invites them to…
Live
For life is his purpose.
And life is his desire,
ㅤ his goal,
For us.
Still, we find ourselves stuck.
Operating by our old strategies.
We prefer the mundaneness of our meaningless existence.
So, we say, “Soon.”
Yet we could say yes to him.
We could step into the unfamiliar.
Step into the meaningful.
Step into…
Life
We could choose to make Jesus our foremost love.
The one we think of first.
Our priority.
And when we choose him,
ㅤ we find we are now better able to love others.
As we embrace the invitation to follow,
ㅤ and to love,
Jesus…
We discover the treasure he brings to our lives.
When we sense the value of what he offers,
ㅤ we respond fully.
Extravagantly.
We give all we have,
ㅤ so we can experience the life he desires for us.
But…
We have to follow him all the way.
To experience the fullness of that life,
ㅤ we must be fully committed to him.
We must be ready,
ㅤ be able,
To deny ourselves.
We must daily die to self,
ㅤ in order to live fully in him.
A bit of performance art, written while listening to a sermon
