It starts from the heart and ends with the heart.... It comes only to a few, who have been qualified and chosen from the beginnings of time... The call beckons the soul as no other invitation in all the worlds... It cannot come unless the heart desires it. It will remain dormant, on the shelf until the next heart summons it... It is always ready, always prompt, always present.
There is no other magic in all the world than when a call connects with a ready heart. It stirs the soul to such a degree that the heart actually changes... it is never the same, it cannot be for it will never only look inward again... it now looks outward... to others. It yearns to connect with others now... making lasting changes in lives for all eternity.... It is the first mighty love affair that this young heart will experience.... it begins to know how to mourn with those that mourn, to know how to empathize with others in deep and meaningful ways... so meaningful that the thought of pain and suffering of others begins to bring one to their knees for the first time.... Others pain becomes your pain... you embrace it, you feel it as real as you can, so that you can learn how to love others completely and unconditionally.
Is there a more powerful call than that of a missionary? There is something so unique about giving up everything for 2 years to solely learn how to align with what Jesus would do if He were here.
When Jesus invited a few fishermen to come follow Him.... they didn't know what was in store for them. But He knew who they were, He knew their hearts. They just knew their hearts told them to follow....and that was enough.
It starts with desire... God grants men unto the desires of their hearts. That can lead to good or bad things, or in His words, salvation or destruction. He can't make us feel anything that we don't choose to feel first ourselves. He doesn't plant desire in our hearts, He can only "inspire" us to want to learn of Him, to be like Him, to serve others in His behalf....
So.... when an 18 year old learns that for the first time ever, that they can now serve a year earlier than expected, and in 5 seconds looks inside themselves....pause, then immediately recognize the absolute surety of their response: "YES! I am going!". Well, that can send shivers of joy down a Father's spine and spirit. To see your son go from 0 - 100 in just a few seconds says a lot about his heart, what his values are and who is really is. Especially since there is always a choice... he doesn't have to go, he could wait, get a year of school under his belt... have a bit more fun before going. There are a million reasons not to go at all, at least twice as many to wait just a year, and yet, to immediately "jump" at the first chance...!! Well, that is special.
They throw their name in a big "hat".... they have no idea what will come out... They fantasize about where they can go, where they think it would be cool to go... they always worry about going to "Idaho"! In the end, they go wherever they are asked to go, no questions, no worries... they just "go".
Then, it comes... that long awaited letter... they have never known anticipation like this... they open the long awaited letter....The transformation occurs instantaneously...They immediately begin loving the people of that place. It suddenly becomes the greatest city, country and land in all the world!!! Surely there has never been such a grander place then that of their 'call'....
Those new people begin to work their way into your heart... they don't know you and you don't know them... it doesn't matter... the feelings start to creep in and distill like the dews of Heaven... there is no hope for this 18 year old! Their hearts start beating faster and faster... they feel new things that they didn't know they could ever feel... what they don't know is that their hearts will perfectly expand to the exact size of the country they serve. Their hearts can feel and fill the needs of every single person who lives within that domain... No one is beyond their reach even though they cannot reach each one.... their reach will be enough.... to touch those that need to be touched and the world will never be the same for both....forever.
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