God's Will

This is kind of a follow-up to my post yesterday about Christians I admire vs. those who make me embarrassed to call myself a Christian.

I remember reading this article in college from larknews.com, which is kind of like The Onion but specifically satirizing Christian topics. If you didn't click the link, I'll summarize: a man dies at the age of 91 without having done anything substantial with his life, because he was waiting for the voice of God to direct him.

Which brings me to an item I didn't list on my blog yesterday: Christians I admire take action. Christians that embarrass me sit around waiting for a tangible sign from God.

It's not that God can't speak to us in miraculous ways today. I believe he can. But he doesn't always. And I think sometimes faith means taking that first step and seeing how it goes. Sometimes, we just need to take action.

There's an old joke about a guy who was sitting on his roof as floodwaters rose, and he prayed for God to rescue him. Someone on a raft came by, and he said, "No thanks, I'm waiting for God." Then someone in a row boat came by, and again he said, "No thanks, I'm waiting for God." A motor boat came by and he gave the same response. Eventually he drowned in the floodwaters, and when he got to heaven he asked God, "Why didn't you rescue me?" And God responded, "I sent you three boats!!"

Sometimes we're so bent on having to see God speak or act in miraculous ways, we miss what he's telling us in everyday life. Like if we're not at a burning bush, God can't be directing us. And so we sit back passively, waiting for that booming voice that will probably never come. God's much more into subtle whispers than booming proclamations, it seems.