ON THE VANGUARD

MAKE A DIFFERENCE
"The King will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.'"
Matthew 25:40

I want to share something intimate with you today; something I am honestly still working through. This may come as a shock to you, but hear me out. As you know, I spent the greater portion of thirteen or so years caught up in some form or another with an addiction to pornography. It wasn't until I was left without a job and spouse that I was humbled enough to hear God and surrender the voids in my life to Him. But think about that, thirteen years of living a double life; of conning so many into thinking I was sold out for God when really I was living in a self-indulged hell. In March of 2001, following my six months of counseling with PureLife Ministries, I made a vow to God. For every year that the devil stole from me in this addiction, I would make it my goal to double for God's service. Right away, I felt called to be a beacon of light to those who were struggling with the same addictions. But as my life went on, I found myself with another problem, a failing marriage. As I went through in many ways an easy divorce, I then told God that I wanted to add to my mission in life the fact of helping others who may be struggling in marriage or maybe looking for help following a divorce. In fact, I wrote on the inside of my Bible the mission statement I felt God give me as I prayed. For the purpose of reaching the lost, and for the strengthening of the saints. These are words that I have strived to live by in each devotional, each talk, each phone call at whatever hour.
I must confess, though, that in addition to this change and this mission statement, I feel God has been bringing my attention to another area where maybe he is calling me, even if just for a season. You see, for so many years I supported the porn industry in my funding, viewing, websurfing, etc. While I never went to a club or spent the night with a prostitute, I still was a secret supporter of the business. But lately I have had this burning desire to do something in contrast to the things I did in the past. I have felt it is time to make a difference. Where once I supported the industry, I now feel God urging me strongly to help bring an end to human trafficking. A recent statistic estimates that 800,000 men, women, and children are trafficked yearly.* That is 800,000 people that are robbed of life because of the sin I promoted. I am not happy to know this statistic, but even more unhappy to know that I helped cause this statistic. What can I do? Can I go to these high risk and trafficked areas and pull them off the street? Maybe. Can I give funding to organizations that are already in motion? Yes. Can I pray for these people, both those trafficking and those being trafficked, that they will know Christ? You bet. And my desire is that I can do all three.
Yet the point I am trying to make today is not that you also have to share in my mission statement and my perhaps seasonal calling, but rather that you find yourself answering to the call that God has placed inside of you. There is an area in life that God has called you to, whether in giving, serving, or prayer. You also have been called to make a difference somewhere. Maybe God has called you to support a local church missionary, or a child who has no food, or to serve in a soup kitchen. The task is not measured on importance, but rather on obedience. I cannot sit back any longer and do nothing when I know that God is telling me to do something. So where is God calling you to make a difference?
When Jesus shared the story of the goats and sheep in Matthew 25, He left us to ponder where we stand. There were those who served the needs of others and questioned, "Lord, when were you sick, and tired, and naked, and hungry, and thirsty, and we took care of you?" His response was when they did it for others. These were the ones that God blessed. Yet there was another group who questioned when they saw this of their Lord and failed to help meet the needs. The response here was when they did not reach out to others. They failed to receive the blessing that could have been theirs. Now please hear me, I am not saying that we should do good only so that we can receive a blessing. We must do good because God tells us to, because we want to obey Him. The truth is that many are sick, and tired, and naked, and hungry, and thirsty, and we can help others. We can make a difference. I challenge you to think not about yourself for a moment, but to consider what God is placing in your heart. Where is He asking you to make a difference?

* http://www.jentezenfranklin.org/outreach/lifespeakers.php