Three years ago, Matt and I committed to living a life of inconvenience.
In today’s culture, that’s easier said than done…
Don’t want to wait through commercials? Skip them. Had a long day and don’t want to engage with people? Get your food to go. Or, better yet, have it delivered.
It’s easier than ever to avoid lines, avoid conversations, and avoid people altogether.
Which is exactly how God convicted us:
I told you to love your neighbor, not avoid them.
We learned that What We were calling an interruption, God was calling an invitation.
The only difference between the two is which outcome we value more. When we care more about the outcome of our plans, we’ll call it an interruption. But when we care more about the outcome of what God is doing, we’ll recognize it as an invitation.
So, we both promised to stop letting the inconvenience of the invitations be our excuse. So far, that’s looked like sometimes skipping a Sunday nap because a friend needs prayer, or giving up our “fun” budget because someone else needs the money more than we do, or always stopping to ask people holding signs what their name is and if they would like a warm meal because every single person deserves interaction and dignity. It’s looked like buying 30 pizzas and walking around with friends in a thunderstorm to ask people if they want a hot meal or prayer. It’s looked like a 14-hour road trip to go believe for the impossible with grieving parents. It’s looked like spending a lunch break in a parking lot helping people load groceries. It’s looked like giving up a date night to love on another couple who just wants someone to believe in them. It’s looked like gently passing people whose weary souls need rest into the arms of the Father, who wants nothing more than to hold them.
It’s looked like a million tiny, different things, but it has always ended with the same result: an encounter with the love of God. Not just for others. But for us as well.
Please, please know that my heart here is not to brag on anyone or anything except for Holy Spirit. We only go where He leads, and we couldn’t even do that without the incredible community who has come around us and offered to help with our kids, or cover some of our needs, or love on us when we are running on empty. These are just practical examples of what a life of inconvenience might look like.
We still believe in boundaries; we just let Holy Spirit set them. We still miss the call sometimes; we just trust Jesus to give us a second chance. We still get exhausted and overwhelmed; we just believe that God will provide everything we need to live the life He has called us to.
Friends, now more than ever: the bride of Christ is not called to convenience. We are called to the battle field. We can’t get stuck in the “come to me” mentality that the church has so often operated in: “Come to me on Sundays to get filled up. Come to me and learn about God’s love for you.” Not in a season where it’s hard to even leave our homes because so many people are stuck in a pit—of isolation, or depression, or fear, or worry, or desperation—with hopelessness piling on top of them. Not in a time when people are under so many heavy burdens they can barely even breathe. We have to shift from, “Come to me,” to, “I’ll come to you.”
A lifestyle of inconvenience is exactly what Jesus modeled. When He wanted time alone and was instead met by a crowd, He responded with deep compassion. When He was on His way to Galilee, He went out of His way to go through Samaria so He could meet the woman at the well. He constantly broke down barriers, woke up early, and spent time where no one else would. He touched the untouchable, and spoke to the unspeakable, and loved the unlovable. Because His heart has always been and will always be for a personal encounter.
Are you willing to get uncomfortable? To give up control? To be interrupted? To love when it’s not easy?
Go to the pits.
Go to homes.
Go to hospitals.
Go wherever the Holy Spirit tells you to go.
Jesus didn’t say, “Go to church.”
He said, “Go into all the world and preach the Good News to everyone.”
So. Let’s go.
Grace Waves 