Impact Begins With Availability

Last night was a restless night of sleep for me.  I’ve had a head cold for about 5 days that’s on the verge of becoming a sinus infection.  Been eating healthy and exercising this week.  Got a great chiropractic adjustment to help my body’s immune system fight this off on Friday.   And as a last resort the last couple days, I’ve had to take some over the counter decongestants and expectorants.  Yummy.  I took a dose yesterday evening that kept me restless for a good portion of the night, and when I eat healthy and exercise, I don’t sleep as deeply or as soundly as I usually do because my body’s burning fat all night.  It was a bad combination.  Insomnia and restlessness are really rare things for me, thankfully. 

As I was tossing and turning last night, the fact that I’ll turn 40 this year hit me like it never has before.  It will happen on October 24 (gifts are welcome – cash preferred). I know it’s a big deal for some people – especially many women.  For some men, it’s often the beginning of a mid-life crisis.  I always say that I had my mid-life crisis at 35 and started a church instead of buying a sports car and getting a trophy girlfriend.  Never needed the trophy girlfriend because I’ve got a trophy wife, and I’d much prefer a new truck to a sports car because I fancy myself a redneck.

I really began to think about where I’m at in life and what I’ve accomplished for the Kingdom of God. Most times I’m pretty satisfied with my life – my relationship with Jesus; my marriage; my kids; my friendships; the opportunities I’ve had in ministry to build the Kingdom throughout my life.  But last night I wasn’t so satisfied.  I really began to think about all of the things I want to see happen in my life that haven’t happened yet.  

I spent some time praying though that as I was awake last night and considering what I’d like my life to be from this point forward.  What would it look like to have a deeper relationship with Jesus that I long for?  What would it look like to have the kind of marriage that’s reflected in Ephesians 5:21-33?  What would it look like to know that I’ve done my job as a dad before my kids become adults?  What would it look like to have better and deeper friendships?  What do I want to accomplish in ministry and how would I like to see the Kingdom of God grow?

And as I was reading though one of today’s readings in Matthew 28 from the For The Love of God reading plan that I’ve been following, it hit me.  Accomplishing great things for God and having all of those things I long for begins with making myself available to Jesus first and foremost.  And out of that availability to Jesus, my availability to all of those other things will flow.

Matthew 28 begins with the account of the resurrection of Jesus and about how the news of the resurrection began to spread.  It concludes with what we call The Great Commission, where Jesus sends his disciples out into the world for mission and ministry.  And really, all of the things I’m longing to see happen in my life will happen in obedience to what Jesus tells us to do in v.v. 18-20. 

But before the disciples went out and changed the world and turned the world upside down, we see something important, and something we often overlook in this amazing story.  It’s such a simple thing, but yet it’s so profound.  In v.16&17, they made themselves available to Jesus: “Then the eleven disciples left for Galilee, going to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go.  When they saw him, they worshipped him – but some of them doubted!”

The disciples and followers of Jesus – some of whom had spent 3 years with him – had a choice to make when they heard the news of his resurrection.  Would they return to their relationship with Jesus, which would be made new because of the resurrection?  Or would they walk away and do their own thing?  Really, this is the heart of the matter for us as we think through and consider whether or not our lives will have a lasting and eternal impact on the world around us.  Will we make ourselves totally available to Jesus and his will, or will we walk away and do our own thing?

When the disciples came to Jesus and made themselves available, some of them worshipped and some of them doubted.  This is encouraging to me, because it shows us that even the eyewitnesses to the resurrection of Jesus had their doubts.  Jesus was the only perfect one in this story.  And yet Jesus didn’t say to the ones who doubted, “Get out of here.”  He invited them to be a part of changing the world.  He invited them to live lives that were marked by lasting and eternal impact on the world around them.

Consider the impact of your life right now.  Are you living in such a way that you’re have a lasting and eternal impact on the world around you?  Are you having some impact, but realizing there’s more that you can and should be doing for the kingdom of God?  If that’s you – like it is me – are you making yourself available to Jesus above and beyond all other things in your life?

What a struggle that is.  There are so many demands on our time and attention.  A friend of mine on Facebook shared something great today that is helping me think through this.  He shared a picture that said:

What if we began to treat our Bibles the way we treat our cell phones?

What if . . .

            . . . we carried it with us everywhere

            . . . turned back to get it if we forgot it

            . . . checked it for messages throughout the day

            . . . used it in case of an emergency

Wow.  What a powerful thought.  What if we made ourselves more available to Jesus than we do to anything else?  Imagine the impact that our lives would have in the world.  Imagine how our lives would change.  Impact begins with availability.