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Tuesday, January 28, 2014

YIELD TO WIELD


In the journey of discovering one's self in God, there will come a point that a certain choice has to be made. Any travel or road will have a winding path in which the journeyer would have a crossroad to face. It may be dilemma of sorts, a difficult conundrum to solve, a loss of direction, or just even a dawning of options far too many for one to make sense of.


At times it can be wildly freeing while other times incredibly paralyzing.
Certainly, in the life of a Christ-follower, there will be many tough roads upon which the believer will find himself or herself in. One of those is the crossroads of faith when the follower explicitly decides which way to go, which option to pick, which path to take, and what kind of life one will lead.

The choice comes with much resistance within the person because he or she knows that whatever path be taken, it will certainly require much commitment. Here is the problem:

Flippant Commitment

When we talk about commitment, it utterly depends on the function, ability, and will of the person making it. It renders the person to willfully commit, otherwise, when he or she is unable to, everything falls apart.

Other situations are far worse; at times, I have observed that people are really by nature flippant. We come to a really serious and life-molding commitment but we fall short of fulfilling it almost always. Our hearts are easily enticed by what is good, leaving no room for what is best. Our souls are constantly on a flurry from new inclinations so much so that we are never set on one place but keep moving from one to the next. Our minds are heavily transfixing on new interests that we never seem to have a still focus.

We are basically and humanly flippant commitment-makers.

Here comes to mind a familiar yet almost alien term to our generation:

*According to Merriam-Webster Dictionary

The Staunch Surrender

In the life of a true follower, there is no such thing as a flippant commitment. We may have been guilty of making these very choices in the past with emotional hyper-packed messages and sermons, with retreats and events that lead us to make renewed commitments but none that last long and alter life.

Yielding is universally different. It is a complete surrender, utter abandon, giving-up one's self with all rights, possessions, control, and even life to that of another.

Commitment is man-made. Surrender is on the other hand, centered on God.

When we surrender all of ourselves to what we believe in, it starts to transform our lives. We are made new in every way because God can only work on those who are willing to be re-made--in a sense--reborn. As long as we hold a part of ourselves and keep our ways, God would not have done His great and mighty work in us as He desires for us to be.

The Missional Mandate

*According to Merriam-Webster Dictionary

At once, when a yield is given, a wield is put into play. The life once given is now fully usable by the great Maker. In the wake of a man-made commitment now stands firm a mandate from God Himself that the person totally surrendered onto God would be brought to a place of meaning, purpose, and destiny--all found in his timely mission as he is living in this world. This is his Missional Mandate.

What would it take for God to so mightily use you and wield you that a heavenly mission is yours to take? A divine commission awaits you and a mandate is upon you. The catch? Yield to be wielded.

The God who who brought you forth will be the one who will send you forth
There is no more place for flippant commitment but utter surrender. The people that God are looking for are the sort who would throw their lives at his bidding without any reluctance, resistance, and recoil. The Lord summons the sleepers and lukewarm sitters. The Lord summons even those who would seem to be unfit, undeserving, and unmerited. The Lord is the one who makes great the small. The Lord is the one who gives grace to the humble.

Tuesday, January 21, 2014

The Tub-Thumper's Cause

A Tub-Thumper is 'a vociferous supporter (as of a cause)'; Historically, these individuals were known for their amusing, impassioned, and sometimes loud way of public speaking. The earliest known Tub-Thumpers were that of preachers on a pulpit--'tub' being used at that time as a synonym for the pulpit (stage) and 'thumper' because these speakers were known for pounding their fists, perhaps to generate interest or wake up their listeners.

*as defined in the Merriam-Webster dictionary
Tub-Thumpers of Old, preaching and teaching the one and only cause they knew to be of eternal significance

Too many today would attribute a cause to something rarely relevant, supporting movements and methods that speak far less than any thing valuable, not even worthy of note. The day and age of our generation, one wherein data and information are on a constant flurry--thanks to the internet--has unfortunately made us all jaded and ignorant of the meaningful, the significant, the priceless, the enduring, and the eternal.


Sadly, we process a lot of ideas, thoughts, concepts, and isms but none of them really impact us in a way that is long-standing and life-altering. We've got a lot of buzz-worthy causes to support, Facebook advocacy pages to like, even Twitter personalities to follow but not a whole lot of substance nor truth to feed on.


With this, you've got multitudes all swearing allegiance to the next "greatest" thing, jumping on the band-wagon of the next craze or fad, listening to and following the next most emphatic and charismatic leaders, moving towards all sorts of propaganda, methodology, and ways of life that are unheard of, unparalleled, and unabashed. It is the follow-me generation.



Where there is an abundance of self, there is a lack of concern for outside of the self.
Where there is a self-centered embodiment, there is none of a God-centered enlightenment.

To put it bluntly, it is a Christ-less generation.
Consequentially, a Christ-less generation will be a life-less generation.

These very words of Jesus speak a thousand-fold into our lifeless predicament:
"I came that they may have life and have it abundantly." John 10:10 ESV

Jesus came. Jesus gave His life. Jesus alone makes us live life abundantly.


Whatever is the cause of your life, the passion that drives you, the very thing that you wake up to every morning, the last thought on your mind before you sleep, the meaning to which you will ascribe the days of your life, the purpose of the very things that you do and strive for--IF NOT CHRIST--utterly pales in comparison and ultimately disappoints.


Many try to find life in making much of things, objects, events, careers, feelings, and even people but none will ever match the other-worldly beauty, majestic excellence, extravagant love, and sheer mystery of Christ. He alone can satisfy the human soul because He alone created it. The void that we all try to fill with so many worthless and useless things can only be ultimately filled by Christ.

“If I find in myself desires which nothing in this world can satisfy, the only logical explanation is that I was made for another world.”
― C.S. LewisMere Christianity

There will never be any other cause worth living and dying for. A cause that outlasts even its followers, advocates, supporters, and also opponents. A cause that is more valuable and significant than any other. The Cause of Christ.

The next time you are to consider what cause you will live and die for, consider Christ. For He alone is everlasting and is worthy of our complete devotion, service, and surrender. His cause is the cause of Salvation for whoever believes in Him. His cause is love that dies on the cross. His cause is repentance that leads to life. His cause is unwavering faith that leads to a heavenly inheritance. His cause is to be close with you. His cause is to be Christ to you so that you may be Christ to others. His cause is undeniably, primarily, and simply...you.


That is the cause of The Tub-Thumper,
the cause of Christ.