I flipped on my television and saw a kid with a cantaloupe-sized tumor on the side of his neck, which could eventually lead to a slow suffocation.
The next scene showed an adult with cataracts on both eyes who had never seen her young daughter.
Next, I saw a baby girl with a cleft lip who would be unable to speak clearly.
The next scene was a school-aged girl whose bout with malaria caused her knees to turn backward. How she walked in that condition is beyond my understanding.
The organization performing miracles on these beautiful people was called Mercy Ships. I’m still blown away by their opening:
Bringing hope and healing to the world’s forgotten poor…
They were literally causing the lame the to walk and the blind to see.
I burst into tears as I saw miracle after miracle.
I cried because I hated to see thousands line up for a chance to be healed.
I cried because they were healed!
I cried because I have no idea how blessed I am to live the life I live.
And, I cried because I don’t want to be a lame hand, a blind eye, or a suffocating tumor on the body of Christ – not when Jesus is our miracle worker.
In this way, we are like the various parts of a human body. Each part gets its meaning from the body as a whole, not the other way around. The body we’re talking about is Christ’s body of chosen people. Each of us finds our meaning and function as a part of his body. But as a chopped-off finger or cut-off toe we wouldn’t amount to much, would we? So since we find ourselves fashioned into all these excellently formed and marvelously functioning parts in Christ’s body, let’s just go ahead and be what we were made to be, without enviously or pridefully comparing ourselves with each other, or trying to be something we aren’t. (Romans 12:4-6)
Let’s just be what we were made to be.
A lot of us are being something other than what God created us to be.
We’re pursuing things for the wrong reasons. We’re afraid of boldly going after the vision He has given us. We think we’re being humble when we don’t ask for too much when we’re really being selfish because the little bit we asked for can’t bless the people God sends our way.
We’re settling for what is easy and comfortable. We’re settling for what doesn’t sound too “out there” or arrogant. We’d rather be liked than speak the truth in love. We’re too busy to figure out how to hate the sin, but love the sinner with a love so pure they feel Christ when they’re near us.
We’re too stuck in the past to create a future that lines up with the promises of God. We’re too busy pretending everything’s okay to share a testimony that shows the magnitude of God. We’re so afraid of being mistreated that we shoo away folks who have been sent to link arms with us.
We’re so afraid of rejection that we don’t even show up and give God a chance to perform a miracle.
In essence, we’re a dead limb, a blood-sucking tumor, an eye that can’t see.
Who Were YOU Created to Be?
We were created to be Christ in the Earth, but we’re content with just being on the Earth.
A few weeks ago, a co-worker was killed in a head-on collision on her way to work. She left behind a school-aged daughter and a host of family and friends who were and still are in great awe and disbelief at her passing. But, no one knows when today will be our last. Even though we know we have a home with our Savior, we’re human and the thought of leaving behind our loved ones makes us sad.
But, let Brooke’s passing be an urgent reminder that you have work to do.
You have a testimony to tell, a book to write, a business to start, a family member to reconcile with, a grudge to burn, a sin to kick in the teeth, forgiveness to give, a second chance to give, hope to give, someone to feed, someone to clothe, someone to encourage, debt to eliminate, a legacy to leave, an apology to give, values to teach, someone to mentor…
So, what’s the play call?
Get in line for your miracle! I’m imagining Jesus walking, transforming every town He visited, performing miracles. Do you think there was any part of His body that was missing the power to heal? He could cure someone with his pinky toe!
So, no matter what part He has assigned to you, ALL of HIM in you is radical, bad to the bone, powerful beyond words, and LIT!
Are you acting like a dead limb or the most powerful pinky toe you’ve ever seen?
The volunteers on Mercy Ship are the hands and feet of God every day! Not only do they cure the world’s forgotten poor with surgery, they love on them and celebrate them.
We don’t have to pack up and move to a remote part of the world to see a miracle.
We are miracles just waiting to happen.
So, let’s just be what we were made to be.
