I'm Going on an Adventure!

As every year comes to a close, I ask the Lord to reveal a word or phrase to me for the incoming year. This year the words "prepare", and "adventure" are what kept coming to me. It got me to thinking about following Jesus and how unexpected the journey has been. I look around the rooms I sit in, and the people He has called me to serve. You see, I work as a Volunteer Chaplain for my city's police department. I couldn't have even guessed where I would be when I decided to follow Jesus. Recently my cousin has decided she wanted to approach life differently by adding Bible reading, prayer, and "getting her Jesus on" as her kids say. She is finding those nuggets of wisdom that is held within the pages of His Word. She is amazed at how God has given us the Word to guide our lives and our walk on this Earth. She is on an adventure!

I began to think of the words God had spoken to me about prepare and adventure. When Jesus began calling the first disciples, they were out fishing doing their own thing and Jesus called to them - "Follow me!" (Matthew 4:18-22). Peter, Andrew, James and John all drop what they are doing and follow Jesus without any promises or reassurances. I find my cousin's beginning like these fishermen who dropped what they were doing in life to follow Him and include Him, like she is in her life. In Mark 2, Matthew (Levi), the Jewish tax collector, has everything he could want but no relationship. He is marked as a traitor to his people and a necessary nuisance for his Roman employer, who hates Jews. Matthew had it all but no relationships, yet Jesus called him and Matthew leaves all he had and knows for Jesus. The disciples and all who followed Jesus were on an adventure. He was navigating the places they would end up, places they never imagined, witnessing His mercy, love and grace toward those who were of no consequence. Kind of like me sitting in with officers, commanders, and the like, it is the strangest thing to be in this kind of position and know that God has placed me here.

When we let Him be the one who navigates our lives, where we are placed, and do those things we never thought possible or even imaginable. It is clear that God works outside the realm of man, not in it. He is the Weaver of the tapestry, the Artist of the masterpiece which is our individual journeys. If you have ever read or seen, "The Hobbit: There and Back Again", following Jesus can be like Bilbo running thru the Shire yelling - "IM GOING ON AN ADVENTURE!" Bilbo had no idea what to expect yet he leaves his lavish lifestyle (like Matthew) and joins the rest of the company of dwarves and Gandalf. There is no guarantee of his safety or provision, he just trusts that what he is doing is going to be better than just sitting in his luxurious hole in the ground. Sometimes that is the cost of following Jesus, it is the very opposite of what the world will tell us.

While the world tells us to make money, save yourself, and don't be uncomfortable. God tells us the exact opposite. The man who calls out to Jesus, "Teacher, I will follow you wherever you go." Matthew 8:19 NIV but he wanted to bury his father first. Jesus tells him "Follow me, and let the dead bury their own dead." v.22. Seems a bit harsh, but Jesus is letting him know, now is the time to follow, there is nothing that can be done for the dead. Another young man, in Matthew 19:13-30, wants to be assured his "goodness" will get him into heaven. He tells Jesus that he has kept all the commands and so with that his expectation is to have eternal life. Yet, Jesus replies, "If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me." v.21. The young man decides this is too high a price to pay and "went away sad, because he had great wealth." v.22.

The great adventure of following Jesus should be just as Bilbo, Matthew, Peter and the others, leaving the life they knew and starting on a different course. But sometimes we won't go where Jesus calls us because it's not optimal, not "normal", or uncomfortable. I get excited to hear from my lovely cousin and the enthusiasm in her voice, her expression of God and how she just didn't know so much about Him. She is like a child with awe and wonder at who He is and how He loves us. She isn't put off by the inconveniences in the adventure, she embraces it and has great expectation for her journey, NO - Her Adventure. If I didn't answer His call a few years ago, I would not be where I am today and I would not be able to witness the adventure my cousin is on. So, let the adventure begin....Grab your map (Bible) and follow Jesus into the unknown. Believe me, it will be an adventure.

WARRIOR ON!