Just Go...

“Let your light shine everywhere you go…”—Matthew 5:16

It has taken nearly 40 years of this Walk to begin to put feet to a deeply-embedded heart desire:

“What happens in church doesn’t stay in church.”

I’ve given up fighting the unwinnable war of “sacred vs. secular.”

Because the Word is really true:

“And whatever you do in word and deed, do it all in the Name of the Lord.”

Whatever.

I’ve given up fighting the imaginary battle between walking the sacred Sunday morning Walk versus walking out all the personal interests and the (unsinful) pleasures of living life that God has put in me before I was in my mother's womb so that I can live healthily in body, mind and spirit while also reflecting Him and enjoying Him in all that I do.

Not to mention the God-ordained responsibilities of daily life and of simply being an ambassador of Himself as a human being in the midst of it all, and among a sea of fellow humans.
The war is over.
Or at least, it's getting there.

I’ve been exchanging a years-long fear of what it means to be “in the world but not of it” (fearful hint: don’t get any on ya!) for a healthier realization that this Life was never meant to be either/or but both.
By all means, be as wise as an owl, but by all means, carry your light with you, and your salt shaker, too.

Sunday mornings are awesome. They are vital for getting perspective on what and Who is truly worthy of worship, for getting your eyes off of yourself for once, for encouragement for the Journey ahead, for comfort for the battles at hand, and for getting rooted and grounded in who Christ is what His Word promises.

But all of that so that He and it can uniquely shine through each one as we head out the door into the week.

To remember that the Church gathered is meant to be a bubble to be wonderfully burst, not to be safe and comfortable and uber-focused on what happens within its four walls 24/7.

Most of all, to remember that Jesus’ final words before ascending began with:

“Go…”

To remember that your mission field could be in a land far away but more likely it’s right in your own back yard, 

And in and through the things and interests and places and people that God has poured into your life for His purposes...

...To remember, as was the case this week, that He loves answering our crazy “go” prayers:

Like knowing someone who was going through an incredibly dark valley and who worked in a very public place and wanting, somehow, to be able to pray for them without their embarrassment—and then to walk into that very public place that somehow was empty of people, except for you and the friend in need.

And so that “go” prayer, and human touch, happened, bringing tears, smiles, and gratitude, and just maybe, hope for someone in need to keep going and looking Up.

There is nothing like a Sunday morning being-in-His-presence sort of day—even the psalmist didn’t want to leave.

But even better is carrying an in-His-presence sort of day with you and through you.

To just “Go into all your world…”

“Often, you can see the power lines running alongside the street. Unless current is flowing through them, there is no light. The power line is you and I! The current is God! We have the power to allow the current to flow through us and thus generate the Light of the world: Jesus—or, to refuse to be used and, thus, allow the darkness to spread.”—Mother Theresa