I love how the world acts like they have come up with something new and fantastic when, in reality, it’s something the Bible has said all along.
Take this whole “call to action” thing. You need to create a
call to action on your website. For ten bucks you can advertise your Facebook page a
nd put a call to action button on it. People tout it as though it’s the latest and greatest business scheme ever mentioned. Yet Jesus created  call to action over two thousand years ago- and His disciples understood it clearly.
Somehow, though, I missed it. For years I thought of following Jesus as more of an ideological assent than a call to action. I never imagined Him telling me to stop pursuing my own dreams, career goals, and ambitions to pursue something else. That was for His disciples, I reasoned. Simply believing in Him was enough.
My Own Call To Action
But the book of Acts rocked my world. In every sermon delivered,the apostles created a call to action for those who heard. Will you repent and believe and join this unexplainable community called The Way, or will you reject the message of salvation? They expected, sometimes even demanded, a response- one that, if you heard the call to action, meant radical change in your daily life. You sacrificed self for the community of believers. You pursued Jesus above any dream or passion that might be in your heart. You lived for His kingdom rather than your own.
I’m not convinced that I’m the only one who misunderstood this. I see others on Sunday mornings or mid-week around town or read their Facebook posts. Somehow they got duped too. They think being a Christian means believing in Jesus and little else. The major change in their life is occasionally getting out of bed a bit earlier on Sunday morning so they can go to church, or maybe even going so far as to thinking twice about what they watch online when no one else is looking. They remain busy building their own kingdom and know Jesus is with them, but they forgot that He lives in them to do the unexplainable!
The Holy Spirit’s Call To Action
I think the Holy Spirit is aching to move. He is ready to speak above a gentle whisper. He’s ready to do earth-shaking, mountain-moving stuff in our lives and He is tapping on believers’ hearts. It may have been subtle for a long time, but I think He’s going to get louder. He’s hoping you and I are going to answer and tell Him to truly come in and rearrange some things. He wants us to give Him more space that the tiniest bottom corner of our hearts.
Are you ready? Are you game for doing beyond theological assent to actually stepping into some ancient sandals and walking an unexplainable life with your Lord? It’ll mean some changes, probably small at first but bigger as the journey proceeds. And as you take that first call to action, to be able to say, “Yes, Jesus, I want to follow you wherever you may lead! I want to go with you to some unexplainable places and witness some incredible things.”
Why? Because Jesus is unexplainable and incredible. He is always on the move, calling you to new types of action. Every day the adventure unfolds, and every day He says, “Follow me!” We can choose to stay put, believe, but forego the action. He’ll be patient. He’ll never leave us or forsake us- but we’ll miss out. On something glorious. On something unexplainable. On something beyond what we could ever even imagine!
Jesus has placed before you a giant “call to action” button. Will you press it?
Erica’s study An Unexplainable Life: Recovering The Wonder And Devotion of the Early Church released in July, 2016 by Moody Publishers. For more information click here
