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Get to Work!
Joe Killian • May 10, 2018
I had a conversation with my brother yesterday where he excitedly told me about his pending graduation. Jeffrey has gone back to school in order to start a second career. As a highly thought of student, he is receiving job recommendations from his instructors. I asked him what he was looking for in his new career and employer. He made it clear that he wants to work for a company that will provide a mentor for him as well as a chance to grow professionally. We see this same dynamic in this week's Gospel:
Jesus said to his disciples: “Go into the whole world and proclaim the gospel to every creature. Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved; whoever does not believe will be condemned. These signs will accompany those who believe: in my name they will drive out demons, they will speak new languages. They will pick up serpents with their hands, and if they drink any deadly thing, it will not harm them. They will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover.”
So then the Lord Jesus, after he spoke to them, was taken up into heaven and took his seat at the right hand of God. But they went forth and preached everywhere, while the Lord worked with them and confirmed the word through accompanying signs. Mark 16:15-20
Jesus has very high expectations of His followers. He details some of the things that they can expect to see after He departs. Surely they marveled at His words and more importantly at the actual signs as they occurred. There is a pattern here that is important. Jesus predicts what will happen. The disciples go forth in faith preaching Jesus' Good News. Jesus comes through on His prediction. There is one element of this pattern that can't be overlooked. Note the phrase, "...while the Lord worked with them". Jesus is actively engaged with His followers to bring about His purposes.
I hope Jeffrey can find a job and an employer who will mentor him and give him a chance to grow. He will know once he starts working whether or not the employer lives up to their promises. We should have no such question in our work for Jesus. We simply need to go to work trusting that He will mentor us and give us a chance to grow.
The story continues...I'm still working on the pondless waterfall in our front yard. I shared this project with you two weeks ago in Playin' In the Dirt. Since then I've had to rework sections of the stream three different times because we were losing too much water. I am now an expert on evaporation rates and excessive splash, two causes of water loss. This morning I tore the whole thing apart and I'm starting over.
Have you ever watched DreamWorks Animation's Kung Fu Panda? I stumbled across it recently and thoroughly enjoyed Jack Black's performance as a bumbling, noodle selling, kung fu enthusiast, giant panda named P o. Set in ancient China, it is more than a humorous slapstick comedy. The core message of the story jumped out at me as I have been focusing recently on the concept of being. Po is shockingly identified as the Dragon Warrior and he reluctantly enters training. The goal of the training is to receive the Dragon Scroll, which is believed to hold the secret to limitless power. Now I don't want to spoil the big reveal but I will say that what Po realizes is the same as what I speak to in the concept of being and authentic identity. So, where do we find the secret to our "power?" I praise You, because I am wonderfully made; wonderful are Your works! My very self You know. Psalm 139:14 God knows it; and we must seek Him with all of our hearts in order to find it. As it was in the movie, the answer is stunningly simple. Our authentic identity is already within us. The challenge for Po in the movie was in seeing himself accurately and not the way others saw him. Even his teacher scoffed at the idea that Po was anything more than an underachieving dreamer who overate when he was anxious. Po's problems are rooted in the fact that he believes the lie of his false identity much more than he does his authentic one. Is it possible that you do the same? Who could have imagined that beneath all of Po's girth lived the Dragon Warrior? What's hidden from view in you? Seek God for understanding as to who He created you to be. Spoiler Alert: the secret of your limitless power is already in you. God placed it there and He wants you to be who He authentically created you to be.
Maria and I have been playing in the dirt a lot recently. First we replaced our French drain and then we embarked on a creative project intended to change the entire look of our front yard. My brother Jeffrey and I installed a new front step.
