Calling....

I get to share this weekend on one of my favorite passages in the entire Bible. It's one of those passages that years ago as I was reading almost jumped out 3-D off the page at me. It honestly solved a mystery for me that I think had existed in my life for over 20 years. The question I had wrestled with (subconsciously mostly) was, "what can God do with some guy who talks a lot, a guy who looks at things differently than everyone else and a guy that usually gets himself in trouble for weird, strange and some off the wall ideas." I knew that in ministry it could SOMETIMES "pay off" because I helped people see God in a new way...but because I wasn't like everyone else, it almost seemed like people "tolerated" the "unique angle" at which I approached things...and even acted nice when some of those "unique ideas" worked.

Then this verse smacked me up side the head. You ready...here it is..."We are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to to the good works that he prepared in advance for us to do." (insert cool music crescendo here) And there it was. The creator behind the creation (me) revealed himself and solved the mystery. "I'm no accident." While I had worked to convince hundreds of people that THEY were no accident, the truth of it had never gripped me or penetrated my own heart and head. I guess the number of times I got in trouble for "talking" outweighed the simple truth that the creator of the universe made me... and made me like that on purpose. The countless laughs I experienced as I threw out an idea, concept or thought had somehow outweighed THE TRUTH that God had uniquely wired my brain to think differently. (In fairness to them, because of the way I use humor people often simply thought I was joking. Sometimes I would even laugh with them to try and convince them I wasn't serious) Thanks Paul for including that little line in your letter to the church at Ephesus! Not sure how much they needed to hear it, but it solved a pretty big mystery for me!

Here I sit years later sometime still coming to grips with the fact that God has wired me differently than anyone else on the planet...but I'm excited about the fact that the creator of the universe has something specific and unique picked out for me to do that will have an eternal impact for HIM! The really funny, ironic and creative part is...he's going to use the very things that earned me strange looks, "time out's" and revoked meeting invitations to do it. I can't express how much this verse means to me. I can't wait to share this passage on Sunday as the Teaching Pastor at Sonrise...a position (and location) that is rewarding, welcoming and utilizing my creativity. A position that allows me to talk for a living and gives me the opportunity to introduce people to the One who created me...as strange, different, unique and off the wall as I may be.