If you can answer the question; "What am I willing to die for" than you will be able to determine what to live for. The answer can't be Jesus Christ, your spouse or your kids...those are a given. To turn a phrase from the Bible, even an evil man would give [his life] for his family. If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your Father which is in heaven give good things to them that ask him? (Matthew 7:11) The question is, forgetting those causes that we would all naturally die for, what cause do you burn for? What cause would you defend in the face of a firing squad?
Let's be honest, we may love our jobs, our hobbies and our extracurricular activities; but do we love them enough to die for them? It's the things that we are willing to die for that gives us our reasons to live; our reasons to wake up in the morning and the satisfied confidence of a job well done when we lie down at night. That purpose will chase away the darkness of depression and the fear of a life unfulfilled.
Will it be easy? No. The best causes are those that require sacrifice, dedication, commitment and courage. There will be failures, there will be opposition and there will be a cost. It may require spitting in the face of social norms, you may be considered a fanatic, you will need the courage to speak up when everyone else remains silent and you will be required to rock the boat of complacency.
I have been blessed to know my calling. My husband and I had that "epiphany" moment years ago at a General Church gathering in Louisville, KY. Over a span of three days each of us seemed to be "sent" to one hurting marriage and family after another. The needs were legion. At the time, in addition to facing all of these individuals seeking council and guidance, we were teaching a family life class at our Church.
It is amazing how once you are made aware of a calling in your life; you can't seem to escape it. It's like the crazy road game my kid’s play called Banana. Every time they see a yellow car they yell out banana and slug someone in the arm. I never knew there were so many yellow cars on the road. In the past year I have had five struggling, almost dead marriages, brought to my attention. Some have been total strangers that have just spilled their agonizing stories out to me, the sympathetic bystander. It has sometimes brought me to tears; why now in the midst of my own marriage struggle am I faced with so many other needs. The answer was clear, so that I will pray; so that I will help in any way I can, so that I will offer an encouraging word and direct those couples to resources that will give them the tools to a happy, restored marriage and family. For a year now the call pounding through my head has been; if God leads, I will follow. Regardless of the state of my marriage, the need all around me is real and can't be ignored. God has put a burning desire in my heart to help in any way that I can. It is the call that I am willing to die for, to fight for every day. Regardless of the condition in my own life, if I can help another marriage avoid the pitfalls of my own, then I have succeeded. Every restored marriage testimony I hear about spurs me on, encourages me that there is always hope when two people are willing to fight. Every child that gets to see hope restored in their home is a victory. Every spouse that moves back home is a banner of hope. That is my cause; a passion that is worth living for, and ultimately dying for.
The battle will be ferocious for a strong family unit is the solid basis of a strong nation. When a man has something to live for and die for, he will move heaven and earth to defend, challenge and labor toward a moral, strong nation that will preserve the health, wealth and liberty of his family. When the family doesn't matter, nothing matters, and a nation crumbles. No values are worth defending because they will vary with each individual and each new choice in life. Make no mistake; the devil is targeting families in this nation and all around the world. He knows that if you take out the husband it's an easy feat to pick off the remaining members of that family one by one. And it doesn't just affect that family unit; nieces, nephews, aunts, uncles, mothers, fathers, neighbors and future generations can also become casualties. The fathers are the head of the body; remove the head and the body dies. That is why this is a call I will accept and I vow to remain committed to the very end. I may fight alone, I may not ever see personal victory in my own life, but I will know victories and that gives me the enthusiasm to keep up the fight.
Will you join me? Find your purpose, the passion that gives you a reason to live.
"Courage is going from failure to failure without losing enthusiasm." Winston Churchill
God Bless,
Amy Charissa Warren
0 comments:
Post a Comment