In II Timothy 4:2 we are reminded to “Preach the message, be ready whether it is convenient or not, reprove, rebuke, exhort with complete patience and instruction.”
The point?
There is never going to be a “right time”. We must be ready. Always.
So while you may not like what i’m going to say, here’s the real talk.
Jesus said in Luke,
If anyone comes to me and does not hate father, mother and wife [husband] and children, brothers and sisters, yes, even [her] own life, such cannot be my disciple.
Yet today, we are offering women what I often call an “alternative Christianity”. One centered on comfortable homes, happy husbands and well-fed children, actively encouraging women to become more and more consumed with home and family.
But if Jesus specifically and directly said that the call of God is not to be found in a ‘family-first’ approach to faith, then why do we accept this version of Christianity for women, insisting they embrace this very thing?
I think that in the United States in particular, the answer is many-fold. Race, class, acceptance and wanting to be seen as good, decent, middle-class Americans are only a few of the reasons.
Webster’s dictionary defines decency as: “behavior that conforms to accepted standards of morality or respectability.” And yes, women are often relied upon to maintain those standards.
Yet what would have happened if Jesus had come and chosen to conform to the standards of his time?
Bottom line – the search for a comfortable life and middle class inclusion can become a shackle that binds, keeping us from being the determined women of God doing the work we are called to do.
We talked earlier this month about the special blessing that comes with reading the book of Revelation and continually reminding ourselves of our own “end”. Yet when it comes to the call of God, we wait, even though time is not a luxury we have.
God placed His call in our spirit the moment we entered the world. It has been written in our souls and to ignore it, even for those we love, is to ignore Him. Today is your day. Don’t wait any longer.
