Grow Where You Are Planted

1Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual[a] act of worship. 2Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.
3For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the measure of faith God has given you. 4Just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, 5so in Christ we who are many form one body, and each member belongs to all the others. 6We have different gifts, according to the grace given us. If a man's gift is prophesying, let him use it in proportion to his[b]faith. 7If it is serving, let him serve; if it is teaching, let him teach; 8if it is encouraging, let him encourage; if it is contributing to the needs of others, let him give generously; if it is leadership, let him govern diligently; if it is showing mercy, let him do it cheerfully. Romans 12:1-8


I was just sitting here with Ran watching the Olympics when these thoughts started racing through my mind. I mentioned them to him, but he was too engrossed by the television to have an indepth conversation, so I decided to blog my thoughts. Have you ever thought about the impact your are having on those around you. I mean, do you consider yourself a full time missionary? Because we all are. We are all called according to HIS purpose and where you are RIGHT now is exactly where you are meant to be in this moment, and the people that you know, work with, see throughout the day are YOUR mission field. They aren't just random people that somehow found their way into your day. I work with a guy who is moving in a few months to serve as a full time missionary. He is so excited; and I am so amazed at his resolve and dedication to the Lord. He speaks frequently of how he longs to be there and how he is simply "going through the motions" until he leaves. In the past, these words have troubled me, but tonight it has just fell on me like a ton of bricks...you bloom where you are planted. God didn't say, just hang out and do the best you can with what you have until you feel as though you have reached the place you are needed most....NO! He said we all have different gifts that should be used to glorify him, DAILY. Your job title is irrelavant. Whether you are a stay-at-home mom, teacher, babysitter, lawyer, doctor, missionary, mailman, gas station attendant, we are ALL called to minister to each other. We should be walking in the Spirit every moment of every day; looking through the eyes of Christ at each other. Longing for just a moment to glorify God and provide grace, mercy, peace, love, hope, charity to any and all who might need it. We, the Body of Christ, must work together for his kingdom to move forward; everyone doing "their part". For you are called for your purpose. I cannot complete it for you; there are people that you can reach that I cannot. Oh, how I pray that God will find me doing "my part" in the here and now. Never do I want him to find me sitting on the sidelines of life b/c I am longing to be elsewhere. Everyday during our moment of silence, I pray, "Lord, make me an instrument that you can use." Tomorrow, I think I will change it to. "Lord, use this instrument that you have created to glorify you today."