Nice to be inside with the family.

Do you want to be used by God?

I hope not.

What? Don’t you want God to use you for His purposes? Don’t you want Him to use you to bring people to Christ? Don’t you want Him to use you to change the world for the better?

No, I don’t think so. Let me explain.

Oh, please do. This should be rich.

I think you’ll understand with three simple sentences.

He used me to get what he wanted from you.

She used me like a cat uses a mouse.

I feel so used.

Would you like some true-to-life examples of being used by someone?

A father drives his son to be a great baseball player. The father uses the son to live out a lost dream.

Parents go through an ugly divorce and use their children to hurt one another.

Do you still want to be used by God?

I didn’t think so.

Use is an appropriate term for what we do with tools, athletic equipment, or dinnerware. It’s not appropriate for what we do with people.

Or what God does with us.

So what does God do with us?

“Come, let us reason together.”

“Come, you who are thirsty …”

“Come, those who are burdened and heavy laden.”

See what’s happening here?

Come … come … come …

That sounds like an invitation to me.

Come inside.

Come to the table.

Come. Let’s walk together.

Come. Let’s think about this for a moment.

Yep, definitely invitation, one and all.

I think an invitation is both what we long for and what we fear.

Here’s what I mean.

Long for. Ellen and I attended a Reds-Astros game in Cincinnati many years ago. We had nice seats looking out from the 3^rd-base side of the field—lovely view of the Ohio River.

We also had a bird’s eye view of the luxury box right beneath us. We were well within smelling range. When the luxury-box attendant brought out a large plate of fresh-baked cookies, I longed for an invitation to be one level closer to the field.

We often feel like we’re on the outside looking in. We long for an invitation to join the group.

God knows the longing of our hearts and says, “Friend, come inside.”

Fear. Standing outside in the cold, we can appreciate a fire’s warmth. Being invited inside by said Fire is another story altogether. We desire warmth but fear getting burned.

I’ll address fear more in another post, but suffice it to say, although God invites all, not everyone comes.

But His invitation remains, and God is patient. He’s willing to do the hard work of wooing us to Him.

So why would you want to be used by Him? Wouldn’t you rather be invited to know Him? And wouldn’t you rather extend His invitation to others?

I’m curious. How has an invitation influenced your life? What place or event would you love an invite to?

Recommended link:

Jon Acuff’s The soft x

Dark Eyes, Deep Eyes

Two men. Two eternal destinies.

One common hope.

A poignant and compelling portrayal of heaven and hell, with a powerful look at redemption from the perspective of both the lost…and the saved. Well done!–Susan May Warren, best-selling, award-winning author of You Don’t Know Me.

Tarver’s storytelling technique as he takes us along with Nick and Wayne’s journeys through opposite eternal pathways is nothing short of genius. … A must read.–Linda Rondeau, best-selling author of It Really IS A Wonderful Life

For more of what People Are Saying follow link.

Dark Eyes, Deep Eyes can be found at:

WestBow Press

Amazon.com

Barnes & Noble

If you enjoyed today’s post, consider subscribing. Each new post will come directly to your email inbox. Check out the Email Subscription box in the right-hand column.