Having a bigger picture

"But I said, 'I have labored in vain, I have spent my strength for nothing and vanity'...[God] says, 'It is too light a thing that you should be my servant to raise up the tribe of Jacob and to restore the survivors of Israel; I will give you as a light to the nations, that my salvation may reach to the end of the earth.'"

- Isaiah 49:4a,6

When I first started professional ministry, I was the director of a Wesley Foundation at Northwestern Oklahoma State University. Those few months were frustrating. I felt like I had "spent my strength for nothing and vanity." I organized Bible Studies, open houses, parties, and hardly anyone came. Have you ever tried to lead a Bible study when it is you and one college student? Awkward.

So I left town for the weekend and went on retreat to have some heart to heart time with God. During that time away, it dawned on me what I was doing wrong. My picture was too small. All I was focusing on was getting students into the Wesley House so we could do things I had planned. What if instead of staying in the House and luring students over, I got out of the House and walked the campus? What if I claimed the campus as my "House"? I would do ministry by walking around.

I am grateful today for Martin Luther King, Jr., who had a picture that went beyond the confines of Ebenezer Baptist Church, or his side of Atlanta. I am grateful that he grasped the vision that his call was to not just be with "the tribe of Jacob", that his life mission was not to comfort "the survivors of Israel" located in Atlanta. He got out of the church and walked the streets. And he didn't just walk the streets of Atlanta. He walked the streets of a lot of cities. He walked the streets of towns and villages. He walked through the country side. He saw his mission to be "a light to the nations." Thank God he didn't confine himself to Ebenezer Baptist Church.

Do we ever limit our impact in the world by focusing our efforts in too small a spot? Could it be that if we are trying to make a difference somewhere, but things aren't working, that we haven't cast a big enough net? John Wesley famously said, "The world is my parish." This is the picture I'm trying to live in to, that wherever I am, and with whoever I'm with, these are my people, and this is my opportunity, to do good, to offer a word of hope or encouragement, to let in a little light.