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Wednesday, January 1, 2014

Called to Duty



If you could travel anywhere in the world (money being no problem), where would you go? (Serendipity Bible 10th Anniversary Edition, page 1373).

Look around. The space where we are standing, sitting, is an incubator for greatness. God can do wonderful things right here, in this place, if we take the risk. If we allow him to, and then if we move. (The President's Devotional by Joshua Dubois, January 1).




I am seldom enticed to leave my hometown. I don't in any way think of this as being inhibited, provincial, or narrow. The Lord has blessed me with challenges and opportunities aplenty right here, right now. My greatest concern would be if I felt I lived in the doldrums—a place devoid of interests. For then I would neglect my hometown for fantasies of exquisite cruises of adventure—somewhere far off, far..far off. I remember well a cartoon (perhaps by Jules Feiffer) I once saw as an undergraduate. It showed a young man dreaming of doing great things in far off lands. He was obviously a student and was fantasizing while sitting at a desk with his books spread out before him. He told the Lord he was primed for adventure in any distant land. His eager yearning was palpable. Whereupon God boomed down from Heaven directing him to get down to his studies. I have several times referenced the play Candide. There is much truth there in my opinion. The youths desire far-off adventure while some hometown adults counter that, why, here and now they live in total perfection. Of course, the play shows that both views are faulty. We are to do our best where we are in an imperfect world. I love the Scripture verse that says: “If you are faithful in little things, you will be faithful in large ones. But if you are dishonest in little things, you won’t be honest with greater responsibilities” (Luke 16:10 NLT). This only goes to show that there are no “little things” no “backwater towns”. We are called to duty, not to empty headed fantasizing. God calls for vision and engagement, not escapism.




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