Give Up Your Small Ambitions
While it didn't look like it at the time, I was about to give up my small ambitions. My art studio in California met my needs and was beginning to take off in the thriving Southern California economy. Business was booming since I had recently included "custom hand-painted signs" that were all the rage. I was busy, but I still had the flexibility to teach a "college and career" class at our local church that was called “Salt Inc.” (Single Adults Learning Together in Christ). I could not have been more pleased with how things were going.
Suddenly, my life was about to take a different turn.
“Desire that your life count for something great! Long for your life to have eternal significance. Want this! Don’t coast through life without a passion.” - John Piper
God Can Change Those Small Ambitions
It was then that my pastor invited me to join a mission team. It took two seconds to say yes, but that one choice has lasted a lifetime.
I always knew God wanted me to serve him full-time. But, little did I know that this one decision would take me around the world and allow me to be a part of starting multiple churches in four different countries. God put a fire in my heart from that first experience to see new churches started around the world. And that desire has not diminished one iota in all these years. If anything, it has only intensified.
Francis Xavier once said, "Tell the students to give up their small ambitions and come eastward and preach the gospel of Christ."
What are the Ambitions in Your Life?
This is the missionary call. This fire, once lit, will continue to burn with increasing brightness. My prayer is that you too will see the incredible need for preaching the gospel where you're at, and around the world! Consider what God might be calling you to do with your life.
[bctt tweet="I know that not everyone receives a call to do the what I'm doing... but, I do believe everyone is called to do something! - Steve Marlin" username="stevemarlin"]