Imitation journey

People who know me know that I believe that every single follower of Jesus has a calling. The word calling can turn some people off as many have this false idea that they need to hear an audible voice from Heaven telling them to step into some grandiose plan in a far-away country. But I don't think that is it at all. Maybe it'd be better if we called it a imitation journey. Let me explain. If we believe that as followers of Jesus, our lives are to reflect Him, then we therefore need to believe that our lives are to imitate His life. All of it. We are mandated to follow His example.

In Luke 4, Jesus told us what He was called to do and in all of the gospels He goes on to model this for us:

The Spirit of the Lord is on me, 

because He has anointed me to preach good news to the poor.

He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners

and recovery of sight for the blind,

to release the oppressed,

to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor.

vs. 18 - 19

Put very simple, we are called to spend time with our Father and to love Him with all we are, to love everyone, to meet the needs He places in front of us, to live with a loose hand on our possessions, to give generously and even sacrificially, and to be willing to lay down our lives for others.

We are asked to walk into each open door in front of us. We only get that small glimpse into where we are going. So then we are asked to trust.

We will make mistakes. We will get before our Guide on occasion, we will fear, we will fall. But our loving Father knows that. He will pick us up and hold us until we are ready to move on.

For many of us, we'll find that as our hearts break for the needs around us, we are led into a passion for a particular people group, for those captive in similar circumstances. None of us can compare our open doors with anyone else's. My story is my story. Yours is yours. But every good story has a main character with a purpose and she will move mountains to see that purpose fulfilled. Every good story also has conflict. Ours has Satan. But as we press on, every good story has character transformation. And so does yours. So does mine. We grow more like the one we are imitating. And the main character accomplishes what he set out to do, faithfully accomplishing even more than originally planned or expected. In the end, we know that good wins over evil.

You're never too young and you're never too old to imitate Jesus and to walk in His mission.

No matter where you are in your imitation journey, take time to meditate on Isaiah 42: 1 - 9, but personalize it. What doors will God open for your today?

Isaiah 42: 1 - 9, Personalized Version

vs. 1
I am the Lord's servant.
I am chosen and pre-approved.
I am anointed and have the Holy Spirit.
I will bring justice to the nations.

vs. 2
I will have empathy, and love like Jesus loved.
I will be faithful.

vs. 3 - 4
I will not falter or be discouraged.

vs. 6
I am called.
God takes my hand.

vs. 7
I will open blind eyes,
free captives from prison,
bring light to those in
darkness and freedom to those in prison.

vs. 8
All the glory goes to God.

vs. 9
I am in God's plan and
nothing can happen that
He has not ordained.

Want more? Personalize Isaiah 43: 1 - 21 for yourself.