Dear West Family

And just like that, it’s June … in 2022. Life really is just speeding by.

This morning I had the immense privilege of teaching a couple of dozen Austin Stone college students who have devoted their Summer to an intensive development and discipleship program. It was a brilliant time where I got to speak for a couple of hours and take questions on life, faith, Scripture and our place in the world for nearly an hour more. One of the kids asked me how I balance the weight of God’s call on our lives in a way that doesn’t crush me with a sense of burden and responsibility.

The right answer, of course, is an in-depth analysis of God’s sovereignty and humanity’s responsibility and how those seemingly parallel lines do actually meet in the wonderful intersection of Divine purpose. What I spoke about instead was my seven-year old daughter Katie and the way she likes to help with the cooking.

You see, Katie is a helper, but she is also really little, and so her helping is sometimes, um, not all that helpful. In fact, when she helps with things, it usually means that those things will need to be done twice, and so my temptation is to not include her at all. One of the places she loves to help is with the cooking. She slides a chair into the kitchen to stand on, she throws her favorite kid’s apron on, and she insists on doing things that she really isn’t capable of doing. It usually leads to a bigger mess than is necessary and more stress expenditure than was budgeted for in my emotional checking account, but it is worth it for the sense of purpose, joy, adventure and participation that it brings her. I love it when she helps, even though it isn’t all that helpful.

I can’t help but think that our role in the advancing of God’s Kingdom is a lot like Katie’s cooking. We really don’t add all that much, and in fact we probably slow down the process and create a lot more mess than there needed to be, but we gain a sense of value and identity from sheer participation.

This changes the way that I view mission, acts of mercy, evangelism, prayer, neighbor love, vocation … all of it really. God doesn’t need me to get His work done in the world, but He does invite me to participate in the greatest adventure in the world, the redemption of all things. I don’t stand a chance of helping Him in any meaningful way, but I get to enjoy the work that He is doing by participating in the truly tiny way that I can.

Friends, as we approach summer, remember that God has invited you into the great work of disciple making. The great news is that He does all of the real work, and so there is no pressure on us in any real sense, but He invites us to roll up our sleeves, to stand on a chair, and to get our hands dirty as we watch Him cook up something marvelous. Don’t miss out on the great adventure of that.

One last thing, the song this week is once again from my good friends, We Will Worship. It is marvelous.

Grace Alone (Sola Gratia) // We Will Worship

See you Sunday,
Ross