Shining Bright

The clarion call of 2 Kings is this: 'Is there no prophet of the Lord here, that we may inquire of the Lord through Him?' And the answer given is Elisha, because the word of the Lord is with him.

Is the word of the Lord with me? Do I serve God wholeheartedly every day of the week, am I a woman of prayer? This is what I ask myself. I keep hearing the call to go out and be a light in the marketplace, the community and the world, but where is the call to be a light in the Home?

My home needs to be where I shine the brightest, where the light of the six of us shine the light of Jesus into our neighborhoods. But I haven't been hearing that from the pulpit. I hear about the individual shining for Jesus, but aren't we a corporate body? Shouldn't we shine together, encouraging one another in the paths Jesus has called us to? Isn't there some way to combine the two calls--the call to 'go into all the world and preach the gospel' and 'Deut. 6: 4-10?' into one call?

The path. On first glance, it appears as if I am ignoring the call to go out into the world and preach the gospel. It appears that I am hiding my light under the rafters of my home. It appears that following this mothering call is a lesser call than witnessing to strangers. First glances cannot be trusted. But if I look deeper; if I look at the deeper significance of mothering, I find myself viewing motherhood with an outwardly view. A view that reveals that what I am doing by staying in my family is actually reaching out to the world. It is a global attack. Because these four kids are arrows. They are His arrows. I will do my part to prepare them for a life serving Christ and I will place the arrow in the bow and pull the string taut, but it will be God who guides the arrow to its mark.

I want these arrows to fly straight and true. Is there a prophet of the Lord here in this home? Is there one who has the word of the Lord? Or am I expending my evangelistic energies on those outside my home? Am I studying my Bible so I can be prepared to go into all the world, or am I studying it so that I can more effectively share the word of Truth with my kids? These kids are my mission field. Just because they are being raised in the Christian home doesn't automatically mean that they are Christians. They need the gospel life-preached to them on a daily basis.

This is my mission field. Some may be called to a local ministry, or the mission field far from home but the important thing is this: obedience to the call Jesus has placed on my life. I can't be obedient to your call and you can't be obedient to my call. We each are responsible for our own obedience to our own specific call. And I think we need to offer loads of encouragement to each other!

You are doing a great job! Your family is such a blessing. You are changing the world for Christ, one little child at a time. Keep going, you can do it! If you are bogged down by messing up (once again--like me over here), take hold of the grace and forgiveness God extends to you and pass it along.

Blessings,
Jess