Previous Challenge Entry (Level 2 – Intermediate)
Topic: Telephone (07/17/08)
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TITLE: Call to Action | Previous Challenge Entry
By Shelley Arnett
07/20/08 -
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ADD TO MY FAVORITES
I have, in fact, spent a good portion of my career on the telephone. Described by the team owners and managers as being on the “front lines”, we telephone jockeys sometimes feel like we’re really on the “bench.” We spend more hours than we care to think of tethered to our desk by a telephone cord, eyes glued to the computer monitor, and motionlessly parked in our office chair.
I have a love-hate relationship with my phone. When you hear that ring of an incoming call, the possibilities of what is to come can only be imagined. There may be someone on the other end that I can help. Their joy or gratitude can totally make my day. On the other hand, an irate or irrational caller can zap ones enthusiasm and pleasure very quickly.
A personal call can be the same way. What a tremendous pleasure to be able to push a few buttons and talk to family and friends miles away. But rings that yield telemarketers or bill collectors make me want to- well ---reach out and punch someone.
Thankfully, the distance and the phone provides allows me to cheerfully respond with my voice while quietly scowling with my face. Phones can be deceptive that way. We can say we’re busy when we’re not. We can not answer and pretend not to be home. On the phone our true emotions, body language, and actions can hide.
What about my church “career”? I still consider myself a semi pro. Sure- I have moved on from the basics. I am a Sunday and Wednesday, pew dwelling, Bible carrying Christian. But I am not a degree carrying, doctrine defending theologian either. I am a semi- pro.
I have spent most of my “career” in the church. I’ve heard countless pastors, preachers, missionaries, and evangelists describe us as being on the front lines. But I remain tethered to my pew by fear and faithlessness. Having spent precious little time on mission trips and other outreach efforts, I have wasted more hours than I care to count with my eyes glued to the television, sitting motionless on my couch.
Unlike the phone, I don’t have a love-hate relationship with God. God is love and has shown me nothing but overwhelming love. But like the phone, when I hear God—I never know what to expect.
God may be calling to deliver a miracle I never imagined. What a tremendous blessing to read a few verses and be connected with the wisdom and love of God. But a call from a Holy God can also bring necessary conviction to a prideful and sinful heart.
You can try to hide from God like you hide on the phone. But church walls, a choir robe, and quoting verses cannot hide your mind and heart from Him. We may be only connected to Him by His Spirit, His Word, and prayer for now. But one day, thankfully soon, we will speak face to face and all will be revealed.
God is on the line. Will you answer? Can you hear Him now?
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