Chasing Big Things

Have you ever noticed something about Jesus? Despite the world’s flaws…

• He didn’t race from house to house, knocking on doors, searching out every sick or hurting person he could find.
• He didn’t panickedly confront every social issue or instance of political corruption he could find in the social systems of his day.
• He didn’t rush from religious building to religious building, trying to argue every dissenter into the faith with his list of doctrines.
• He didn’t manically pursue every dream he thought would make a significant mark on the world.

Sometimes it BLOWS MY MIND how many times Jesus (often UNLIKE me) limited his focus to JUST. ONE. PERSON.

• At the well in Samaria, there were likely other women coming to draw water throughout the day. But the Bible only records one conversation with one woman.
• Even though it is likely that many sick people gathered in that area, when Jesus went to the Pool of Bethseda, the Bible reports him healing only one man.
• Jesus met one Jewish leader, Nicodemus, by night.

(The list goes on and on. I’ll let you fill in the rest for yourselves.)

But the point is, Jesus obviously didn’t go to the same leadership trainings I did. If only he had a consultant like me to coach him along and ask the good questions:

• Why not stand at the well and repeat the Living Water metaphor for every woman that came to draw water? Get those women to be your “street team” pushing your water message to the masses? Send out ambassadors to other wells…
• Why not sweep into an area where people are sick and perform mass healings? Why not scoop up every sick person you pass by, striding into their homes and breathing health on the hurting? Maybe come up with a catchy name, a logo, a clear one-line slogan.
• Why not turn your talk with Nicodemus into some sort of movement of thinkers who meet at night to discuss religious thought? Maybe release some books. Develop a free web resource with good content.

NOT saying Jesus ignored the five year plan or that he was a small-thinker.The Great Commission kinda suggests otherwise.

Just saying, sometimes it surprises me when I remember: 

• BIG isn’t what drove Jesus. Bringing what God was stirring inside him to expression drove Jesus.
• NEED isn’t what drove Jesus. He didn’t seek out need, yet he never failed to respond to it whenever someone in need crossed his path.
• Sometimes, in my effort to be significant, I take on mentalities (“change the world” “meet every need” “inspire the human race”) that Jesus himself–THE SAVIOR OF THE PLANET–didn’t even take on.
• Jesus, 100% God, himself respected the natural limits of human time and energy.

This challenges me. If you surveyed 100 of my friends, 100 of them would report I err on the side of chasing BIG, significant things. Talk to me for five minutes and I’ll try to sell you a way to globalize what you’re doing.

But I also want to be a person who recognizes that the BIG THING going on in my life SOMETIMES lies … in ONE PERSON.

I want to recognize when a person’s spirit is hot with God’s presence…
When they need permission to dream…
Someone who wants them to heal…
A trustworthy voice to come out of the woodwork to support them and the God-in-them that needs to come out…

I’m not gonna lie. I want to do BIG THINGS. But it’s good for my conscience to remember: even the small things are big things if they are the RIGHT things.