LEARNING HEART: THE CALL TO BE MORE

We’re a pretty relaxed generation. “Doing our best” can mean a million different things—pushing fewer buttons on the remote, cramming fewer chips into our yawning faces, trying to enjoy, or, minimally, staying awake in the church service, taking the stairs instead of the elevator. But what did it mean to Timothy? The man who led him to Christ, nurtured him in the faith, trained him for ministry, and placed him in the pastorate in Ephesus encourages him: “Timothy, take this thing seriously. Do all you can to present yourself to God in a way that pleases Him. Work at it with all your heart and all your being.” These words spank our ears with their foreign sounds. It’s not that we don’t have passion. It’s not that we don’t crave transcendence. It just seems so ordinary.

In a recent e-mail exchange with a friend, I wrote, “Man, I want to be just like you when I grow up.” He replied simply, “Be more.” Be more? That’s it! That’s what Paul is telling Timothy. Be more. Laziness and lethargy are the twin, ugly stepsisters of our fallen nature. But following Christ demands of us: “Be more!”

When my family first arrived in Ethiopia, I was assigned to teach a class at the Addis Ababa Bible College. It was a moment of excitement mixed with fear. Here I stood before a crowd of 40-plus Ethiopians, most with graying temples and weathered faces. As a young American missionary, I was supposed to have all the answers—at the age of 32. Intimidation—the other ugly stepsister; they were triplets.

I asked the class, “How many of you have been jailed for your faith?” Nearly every hand in the room went straight up. I spoke no Amharic at the time, so I thought they must have misunderstood my American English. I tried it again from a different syntactical angle. Same response. One more time. Same response. Finally, an exasperated young man in the front row politely asked me, “Brother Steve, are you asking how many of us spent time in prison because we are believers in Jesus?” “Yes! That’s it, that’s what I’m asking,” I joyfully retorted. He turned and spoke for a few moments. Pause. Then nearly every hand in the room went into the air. Be more.

The call to the nations demands it of us. We cannot escape the conviction that following Christ compels us to uncompromising excellence in our normal Christian lives. But, when you are called to represent the King of heaven in the nations of the earth—be more! What does that practically mean? Are you passionate for the Word? Be more! Are you seeking His face in daily prayer and worship? Be more! Are you studying the culture of those you are called to serve? Be more! Do you struggle daily to speak the language of another so that you can tell him about Jesus? Be more!

It never ends. We never eclipse the need to be more for Him. It’s a lifelong endeavor, an incredible journey He takes with us.

LIVE DEAD CHALLENGE

Leonard Ravenhill once said, “This generation needs to learn to eat less, sleep less, and pray more.” Being more for Christ, learning for life, is an attitude. But it’s an attitude that demands we do something to achieve it. Discipline requires action. How has Christ framed the command for you to “do your best to present yourself to God as one approved”? What do you need to do to be more?

UNREACHED PEOPLE GROUP: BAGGARA

The Sudanese Baggara are the bad boys of Sudan. They oversaw much of the slave-raiding into southern Sudan, and they have been involved in some of the bloodsheds in Darfur. They are a Muslim people group with very few believers. Every time you see a horse, would you remember to pray for the Baggara people of Sudan? Pray that Jesus would ride into their hearts in glory and sweep them off their feet.