By: Carolyn Gard
Thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on Earth as it is in heaven. Matthew 6:10.
On a recent trip to Alaska, we went on a boat tour of a fjord. On the way we were lucky enough to see a group of Orca whales. As we watched, I realized that over half of the people weren’t really looking at the Orcas; they were looking at one Orca through a small rectangle on their cell phones. They didn’t see the big picture, the five other Orcas, how they interacted, what the habitat was like – and don’t get me started on selfie sticks!
Similarly, when we stopped to watch a bear digging for tubers people would drive up, lean out their car windows, take a picture with their phones, and drive on. They didn’t even take three minutes to watch the bear’s actions, or think about what the bear had to do for survival, or what kind of habitat it needed.
Before I got too self-righteous, I realized that all of us can get caught up in our narrow rectangle of life. A rectangle that is usually safe and comfortable. But there is a bigger plan that God has, and we need to step out of that rectangle to be a part of it. It’s sometimes a scary proposition, but a do-able one. We don’t have to go to a third world country; there are many things we can do right here at home. Attend a service of a different religion, volunteer for an organization we believe in, volunteer for an organization that makes us uneasy, give up a Saturday to rally for a cause, knock on a stranger’s door to get out the vote, help serve the homeless meal, join a missionary group to assist hurricane victims. And many more I’m sure you can think of.
The point is, unless an awful lot of us (and I’m including myself) get out of our safe rectangles, God’s plan will never come to fruition.
God, give us the strength of heart to listen to your calling and the will to do something about it.
