Consume Me

"God, I pray Thee, light these idle sticks of my life and may I burn for Thee. Consume my life, my God, for it is Thine. I seek not a long life, but a full one, like You, Lord Jesus."

~Jim Elliot~

Jim Elliot wrote this one summer while he was in college, which means he was right around my age. He had an evident dedication to God, and he wanted to display that in any way possible -- even to the point of death. He ended up being a missionary in Ecuador, and was martyred by the Auca Indians. As a result of his death the door was opened to these people for the Gospel. Now there is a thriving church among this once feared tribe of cannibals.

This made me seriously consider my life. I have come to the conclusion that I want God to run my life, I want to be filled by Him, I long to have a life that benefits and brings glory to Him alone. Whether I have one year or 60 years left in my life I want them to be filled with helping people and doing what God wants. I desire my life to be a living sacrifice to my Savior. When it is time for me to stand before my Maker, I hope to hear the words, "Well done!" I don't want to look back with regret at missed opportunities, wasted minutes, and empty enterprises. I want to look back at a full life -- full of things done to bring people closer to Jesus. I want my life to be a blazing "stick" for Christ, not a smoldering pile of ash that never amounted to anything.

Full Blast

I came across an interesting passage today in Acts 20. In this passage the apostle Paul is talking to the leaders in the church at Ephesus. He makes a very interesting statement:

"And see, now I go bound in the spirit to Jerusalem, not knowing the things that will happen to me there, except that the Holy Spirit testifies in every city, saying that chains and tribulations await me." (Acts 20:22-23)

Most would say that Paul is insane for going ahead with this plan of travelling to Jerusalem. After all, who in their right mind would willingly go somewhere that they are guaranteed problems? Surely Paul is going to back out and stay where it is safe! But wait, Paul is not finished, he continues in verse 24:

"But none of these things move me; nor do I count my life dear to myself, so that I may finish my race with joy, and the ministry which I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the gospel of the grace of God."

When I first read that I was amazed at Paul's endurance, faithfulness, boldness, and steadfastness. He was not willing to allow persecution to stop him from taking the message of God's amazing grace to the lost. He did not consider safety of his physical body to be more important than the salvation of lost souls who were on their way to hell. He knew his life was short and he wanted to finish strong for God, not wavering or wimping out. Unreservedly he gave his all to the One who had given His all on Calvary.

Sadly, I am afraid that out of a simple fear of people we fail to remember that we have been called to a ministry of telling others about Christ's gracious and free gift. Often the thought of going to someone we do not know (and especially those we do know) terrifies us. We are afraid of what they will think, or how they will react. We want to be on their good side, and we definitely do NOT want them to think we are some sort of religious freak.

But Paul, KNEW he was going to be persecuted much more than we will ever be in America, and still he went, counting his life as nothing in comparison to the spiritual darkness of the lives of those to whom he was to minister. How much better it would be if we would truly count the cost of serving Christ, taking out the stops, and going full blast for Him.