Wilson L. Deaton
2nd January 2007, 06:08 PM (18:08)
I'm currently reading David McKenna's, Becoming Nehemiah. He makes the point that Nehemiah was not "called" by God to go to Jerusalem and rebuild the wall. Recall the story: Nehemiah's brother arrives from Judah so Nehemiah asks for a report. Hearing what is going on, Nehemiah is heartbroken. He prays and fasts then asks God to bless his efforts, which God does. Nehemiah was simply responding to a desperate need.
This brought to mind a song from back in the 70s by Christian rock artist Larry Norman titled, "I Am a Servant." Here are some of the words:
I Am a Servant
I am a servant, I am listening for my name
I sit here waiting, I've been looking at the game
That I've been playing, And I've been staying much the same
When you are lonely, You're the only one to blame.
I am a servant, I am waiting for your call
It was the sharp contrast that made me think of it. Norman's "servant" sits around waiting for a call while Nehemiah takes off and rebuilds the walls.
All we Christians have a general call on our lives to do whatever we can to help those in need. Unfortunately, the current situation was summed up too truthfully by Dennis Scott in the "A gift from my boss" thread when he said, "I would ask why it is that so many 'holiness' people don't bother to work with the oppressed and down-trodden anymore?"
I think a lot of holiness people would answer, "It's great that your church (Dennis' church) is doing that but it's not my calling."
Seeking God's will is great but God has already told us to get busy and help the oppressed and downtrodden. It shouldn't take some kind of special calling for that. We don't need to sit around and wait for a call. When God has a "special" task for us he'll speak loud enough that we'll be able to hear even though we're working.
We need fewer servants listening for their name and more "Nehemiahs."
(As Dennis pointed out along with his remarks in his post I quoted, there are fingers pointing back at me....)
Wilson
This brought to mind a song from back in the 70s by Christian rock artist Larry Norman titled, "I Am a Servant." Here are some of the words:
I Am a Servant
I am a servant, I am listening for my name
I sit here waiting, I've been looking at the game
That I've been playing, And I've been staying much the same
When you are lonely, You're the only one to blame.
I am a servant, I am waiting for your call
It was the sharp contrast that made me think of it. Norman's "servant" sits around waiting for a call while Nehemiah takes off and rebuilds the walls.
All we Christians have a general call on our lives to do whatever we can to help those in need. Unfortunately, the current situation was summed up too truthfully by Dennis Scott in the "A gift from my boss" thread when he said, "I would ask why it is that so many 'holiness' people don't bother to work with the oppressed and down-trodden anymore?"
I think a lot of holiness people would answer, "It's great that your church (Dennis' church) is doing that but it's not my calling."
Seeking God's will is great but God has already told us to get busy and help the oppressed and downtrodden. It shouldn't take some kind of special calling for that. We don't need to sit around and wait for a call. When God has a "special" task for us he'll speak loud enough that we'll be able to hear even though we're working.
We need fewer servants listening for their name and more "Nehemiahs."
(As Dennis pointed out along with his remarks in his post I quoted, there are fingers pointing back at me....)
Wilson