“Some want to live within the sound of a church or chapel bell.  I want to run a rescue shop within a yard of hell.” – C.T. Studd

Having just finished reading the Road To Reality, by K.P. Yohannan as well as Radical by David Platt, I have become convinced of one thing:  God has called everyone to a life of missions, and that includes me.  At this point in my life, I am a mere nine months from graduation from graduate school.  Spit out into the world after spending (what some would consider far too long) six and a half years in the upper level education system generates the emotions that one friend of mine used for describing the future as nervousness, excitement, and fear.  Thankfully, I am not alone in this, and considering the amount of college graduates that have gone on to live successful lives since the most important college in the world was ever founded (in 1876 mind you), I should have nothing to fear.  I am young, healthy, and having survived the crucible of the education system, hopefully intelligent.  By all means the future is bright and the American dream of managing peons in a fortune 500 company, marrying a smokin’ hot wife, and having no less than three children is beckoning.

But what if that is not what I am made for?  What if every single thing that I will ever acquire will in the end be burned up? (Matthew 6:19)  A good friend once described it best as saying that we as humans are just glory coated dust (curtvernon.com).  This solemn and heart wrenching fact as held by me and more importantly, the Bible, must generate a different means of thinking in my heart.  (Philippians 3:7-8)

The desires that the world and I once held are now dead.  Everything else is loss now compared to knowing Christ.  K.P. says it best when he says, “If the men and women of this world can die for such petty causes as political independence, material wealth, and territorial gain – isn’t true servanthood the minimal response we can offer to the love of our creator?  He is, after all, the living God with whom we will spend all eternity.  And He has made it clear that servanthood is what He expects from us.”

This is all bluster and flourish if I do not back it up.  As I said before, in nine months I will emerge from my cocoon of relative safety that is the American higher education system.  What awaits me?  What is my plan?  What is God’s plan for my life specifically?

Here is what I do know. In general, God has a habit in my life of not revealing exactly what He is going to show me until generally the last-minute (feel free to contact me for examples).   By doing this I believe that He generates more trust in Him by making me wait and seek Him.  This is not a cop-out and saying that I am just going to sit around and wait till November before I start asking Him what He wants me to do next year.  Prayer for future direction has already begun, seeking the will of Christ has already started.  I have a general direction of: “Therefore, go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.” (Matthew 28:19) (I have more callings than just the great commission – prayer, seeking a relationship with Christ daily etc. but for the sake of shortness and focus I’ve chosen to keep my post centered on missions) I do know that I have a talent in film that the Lord has blessed me with.  I do know that I have a desire to serve the Lord and travel.  I will make plans as the Lord reveals them, but whatever plans I make I will make with an open hand, so if God wants to replace them with something better He is free to do so.

At Breakaway Ministries (breakawayministries.org) Go! Missions Conference two years ago, Greg Matte spoke on the topic of Missions from 1 Thessalonians 3:1-3 and said (paraphrasing from memory), that predominantly people think that missions is for someone else.  That is about as true as the belief that heavenly creatures are small and childlike with tiny wings and harps (Ezekiel 1).

Consider this my public statement that I am called to missions.  We all are.  Whether it is overseas filming exotic locales for a missions organization or right here, I have a direction that I am moving in.  All for God’s glory.