Wreck Me

When I was in the hospital I had some health care professionals who were filled with passion and dedication. I could tell they were using all their talents, abilities, and training to help save my life. One nurse in particular really stood out to me. I can't remember her name because we simply called her "Sarge." Sarge was my ICU nurse whose task it was to wean me off 100% oxygen and get my lungs to function normally enough to leave the ICU unit.

At times I didn't like Sarge because she challenged me and forced me to do breathing exercises when I didn't feel like doing respiratory therapy. She refused to let me quit. She refused to let me settle for anything less than my absolute best. 

She used her education, experience, and knowledge to save my life and "restore me" so to speak to my original state.

I was thinking the other day about the doctors, nurses, and therapists that have used their skills to help save my life. 

That's when I felt the Spirit of God convict me.

Can I truly say I have used every talent, gift, and ability I have to serve God in helping save lives? By that I mean by by making others into wholly devoted disciples of Christ? What about my responsibility to share the message of grace and how God desires to "restore you?"

God absolutely wrecked me.

Too often we don't share our faith. We're supposed to be about "search and rescue." We are supposed to be the first responders.

That's for the professional ministers. That's too personal. I don't want to force my views on others. I don't want to make my friends or neighbors uncomfortable. I don't want people to think I'm a religious nut.

And yet if that friend were standing in the road about to get hit by a truck we'd scream at them, we'd warn them, we'd even run and push them out of the trucks path to save their lives.

For those of us who believe in eternal heaven and eternal hell let me ask this of us.

How much do you have to hate someone to believe in heaven and hell but never discuss it with them?

How much do you have to hate a non-believer to know of heaven but keep it to yourself?

God created each of us for the purpose of glorifying him and to assist in bringing more people into his kingdom and accomplish the saving of lives. You can search out gurus, theories or reasons for your existence but that's the simple answer. God created you to bring glory and honor to his name and advance his kingdom.

But we have traded the cause of the gospel for comfort, complacency, and contentment.

How much do we hate those far from God to never try to reach them? Family members, relatives, co-workers, friends and neighbors. How much do we hate them?

Practical atheism, a phrase coined by Craig Groeschel.  It means honoring God with our lips and mouth while our heart is far from him. I pray he keeps wrecking me. I think the world is full of people who love the gospel enough to benefit from it. I think there is a much smaller number who love the gospel enough to contribute to it.

I just wonder sometimes how many of us can say we love the gospel enough to suffer or die for it?

I'm wrecked.

God has used my recent struggles to prune me, admonish me, challenge me and teach me.

I hope he wrecks you too.