I've been asking two questions of myself, and of other people, lately.
"Then what?"
"Now what?"
For me, these two questions get at the heart of ministry, evangelism, and growth in Christ. These questions push past the easy answers and reveal the processes that effect change, sanctify, and propel us towards a deeper love for, and faith in, God.
When these questions are answered, the road of difficult, compassionate, sometimes-dirty ministry, faith and dependence on God begins. We just can't answer them without Him.
Examples:
- Your neighbor is incredible: he invites you over for dinner, dog-sits, looks out for your place when you're out of town. You talk about spiritual things all the time.
One evening, he confides in you that he's gay, and dating someone special that he'd like you to meet. You decide to respond with what the Bible says about homosexuality. But...Then what?
- You voted for Senator John McCain, hoping for the dismantling of the Roe v. Wade decision through the nomination of conservative Supreme Court Justices. Barack Obama emerges as the President-elect. Now what?
- Your best friend is a faithful worker in a well-known ministry. She is later accused, and then confesses, to having an illicit relationship with a person who is not her spouse. She is remorseful, and asks you specifically for forgiveness. You say you forgive her. Then what?
- Your wife is pregnant, and working at a job that provides you and your family with health insurance and the majority of the household's income. Because of hard economic times at her company, she is laid-off. Now what?
Get the picture? Ministry potential is everywhere, as is the temptation to be dismissive, condescending, or trite in how we (boy, do I include myself in this) respond to the world around us when it does not fit into our rubric, or when it deviates from the standard of our security.
Let's face it: the Lord works within the "then what" and "now what." God eschews "ideal" circumstances because people might think that they were the ones who came up with solutions.
Examples?
- Joseph languished, unjustifiably, as a slave and a prisoner in Egypt after his brothers sold him, but remained faithful to any task set before him. God used him to save the brothers who betrayed him from starvation, after rising to power in Egypt.
- Moses' mother and some clever midwives preserved his life in the midst of a national campaign to kill infants his age. He overcame the Egyptian government twice: once by surviving and winning the heart of Pharaoh's daughter as a baby; once again as a prophet and instrument of God demanding justice for Israel. His career as God's prophet came after murdering an Egyptian, and a 40-year "hiatus" as a shepherd.
- Hannah endured as a barren wife to a clueless husband and a nagging, competitive co-wife, praying so hard for change that she looked like a drunk to Eli - who was a priest of YHWH! But YHWH recognized her fervent prayer and remembered her...and then came Samuel.
- Bathsheba gave birth to the wisest and wealthiest king, only after suffering the seduction of a king, the assassination of her husband, and the tragic death of her first child with King David.
- Daniel prophesied to kings and interpreted dreams, in exile in a foreign land. Oh, and there was that whole lion's den incident.
- Mary was an unwed mother in a culture where women in her circumstances could be justifiably executed. She gave her body and will in obedience to God's will, even though it could have cost Mary her life. She gave birth to our Savior.
How do you think these people answered the "now what"s and "then what"s as they arose?
In light of this, how should we respond to unlikely, uncomfortable, or unpredictable circumstances?
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