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If I am passionate about something, I am all in! I love cooking. My favorite purchases belong to the kitchen: appliances, food, cookbooks, and aprons. I will read recipes for the fun of it. I will walk the aisles of the grocery store just to relax (well, at least I used to). The kids regularly volunteer me to supply the food for a gathering!
My spare time is spent cooking. When I make a cake recipe, I see all the individual ingredients and anticipate the completed work. I do not get discouraged because the vanilla by itself does not taste great or because the baking cocoa is a huge let down when you have a sweet tooth! I know that the finished chocolate cake is going to be so worth it!
I wish I could be that way in my faith. I wish I could be all in. I would like to be able to look at every issue that arises and be able to see the big picture. Rather than look at each one of the obstacles individually, I want to keep my eyes on the finished work and know that it will be worth it. But it is so easy to get caught up in the minor details.
Perhaps you struggle with that also. Have you been so overwhelmed with an issue that you can not move beyond it? Has your focus on the "junk" robbed you of the joy?
Tonight, I had a lovely conversation with a woman who started a nonprofit organization for nurses in the mission field. Individual issues arose, brick walls were hit, and opposition mounted at the beginning. Rather than become paralyzed by each issue or get caught up in the negativity around her, she focused on what God was calling her to do. Within a few months, she left a secure career that she loved and set off on her first mission trip to a country she knew nothing about.
Through it all, she kept her eyes on the big picture. She went all in! In looking back over the last few years, God placed people in her path who took the problems and turned them into possibilities!
In chapters 6 and 7 of Acts, we read about a follower of Christ who was all in. Stephen knew who he belonged to. Stephen saw the big picture. When he was presented with opposition, he saw it as an opportunity to stand for Jesus. He did not get caught up in the minor details, nor did he get caught up in the false accusations. Instead, he stood and gave a sure defense of his faith. Then things looked bad for Stephen, when his accusers became infuriated. They began stoning him. But in Jesus he found peace, comfort, and hope. He saw Jesus "standing at the right hand of God" (Acts 7:56 NIV). Regardless of how things looked, he found his rest in Jesus. And we can too.
When everyone and everything falls apart around us, that does not mean we have to also. We can stay focused on the big picture instead of the details. We can find our rest in Jesus. We can be all in with our faith life.
Tammey Aichner, pastor, First Church of Christ (Disciples)