Fit For Service

But by the grace of God I am what I am...
What does this mean???

I’m so tired right now…I can’t believe God has got me writing to you in my current estate (I speak in physical and emotional terms); but, then again, if history has proven anything to me, I can. I’ve learned over the years that some of my most productive times as an undershepherd of the Lord Jesus Christ are when I can barely think straight…when I might be inclined to heed the warning on the back of certain prescription drug containers, “Do not operate heavy equipment,” and such. God likes to prove things to us in our weaknesses, doesn’t He?

Therefore I am well content with weaknesses, with insults, with distresses, with persecutions, with difficulties, for Christ’s sake; for when I am weak, then I am strong.
God, in His infinite wisdom, likes to remind us that it isn’t by means of our own strength that He accomplishes His will in and through us. I think of His precious words to Gideon just before He sends him off to battle with three hundred soldiers against one hundred and thirty-five thousand enemy soldiers. In lay terms, He lets Gideon know that there’s no place for arrogance in His kingdom.

The LORD said to Gideon, “The people who are with you are too many for Me to give Midian into their hands, for Israel would become boastful, saying, ‘My own power has delivered me.’“
Why am I so tired and reflective? Well, for starters, I only got about thirty minutes of sleep last night. My whole household got up at 2:30 AM this morning to bring my youngest son to the airport in Boston, MA, which is about an hour away. I’m tired for obvious reasons, but more so because I’m emotionally drained. Unless unforeseen circumstances arise, my son is going to be permanently leaving the house, being committed to a minimum of nine years to the U. S. Air Force. I’m going to miss him. While it’s not my first rodeo, as they say, given my oldest son spent five years serving in the U. S. Army, this time’s a little different because the house is now empty of kids. This is going to be an adjustment for sure. Right now I am filled with mixed emotions.

As I write this to you, I have a file folder open on my desktop with thumbnails of pictures taken over the past few days. The last one in the roll is the one my wife took of my son and I standing on the sidewalk at the airport this morning. He’s taller, fitter, and more ready for military service than I am - heck, if I study the picture too long I might be shamed by the “thousand words” it speaks to me - LOL. All kidding aside, what strikes me in this photo is the fitness of my son to serve. I had my time thirty-plus years ago; but now it’s his time, just like it was his brother’s not too long ago. My prayer is that he serves with honor and dignity worthy of the Lord.

Whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through Him to God the Father.
I’ve had the exceptional privilege of raising a son for eighteen years and a sheep for ten (my son has been a member of my church since inception). The fruit of all this labor has left me feeling sort of worn out, to be honest - LOL! I am not complaining, for I shall defer to my opening references, 1 Corinthians 15:10 and Judges 7:2, whenever I lose my perspective. I’m grateful that God can and does use moments such as a sidewalk goodbye and a hurried picture to keep us humbled. These are the visual aids that remind us of whose glory we live for.

I’m no longer fit to serve the way my son is about to. My creaky joints wouldn’t stand for it. Fitness is a relative term, though, for I am more fit than ever to serve in my spiritual gift. For this I am truly grateful. I still have a purpose here on Earth, even though the very best of my paternal efforts just flew off in an airplane headed for Colorado Springs, CO this morning.

I don’t want this blog to be about me, though. I want to use its contents as encouragement for you. Even as I write this blog in a mental fog, God is beckoning you to give your attention to the situation, specifically that He is purposely using a depleted soul (mine) to do His good work. I may be tired (as you might also be for personal reasons this same day), but in God’s eyes, it’s just a perfect opportunity to remind us of the fact that fitness is a relative term, and that while some head off to train up as airmen and soldiers, others head off to battles void of guns and ammunition. Not every battle is the same, though the war is. We form a collective for God’s glory, by grace through faith, “For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, ‘BUT THE RIGHTEOUS man SHALL LIVE BY FAITH’” (Romans 1:17).

It’s strange in a way that God uses times of fatigue to get through to us, to teach us lessons we are too busy to learn otherwise. We humans are famous for taking credit where credit isn’t due, aren’t we? Knowing this about ourselves is half the battle when considering the calling placed on our lives at salvation. It’s a miracle He can use any of us in any way, whatsoever, to His glory; but, He does.

And He gave some as apostles, and some as prophets, and some as evangelists, and some as pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of service, to the building up of the body of Christ; until we all attain to the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a mature man, to the measure of the stature which belongs to the fullness of Christ.
Being fit for service means being able to do the will of the Lord. That’s it. Not everyone is called to serve in the military, no matter how noble the endeavor may be. We are all called to fitness, though, for fitness’ sake, you see. The real question is, “Fitness for what purpose?” None of us are without purpose. In fact, it is our uniqueness that makes us special in the eyes of God, for we are “wonderfully made,” (Psalm 139:14) each and every one of us. I know that my son is exactly where God wants him to be right now; and I can say the same for myself (a grainy picture taken at 4 AM this morning reminds me of this simple fact). We each go our own way, often tired as I am at this moment, other times rejuvenated,  but always to the glory of God.

When the trumpet sounds and roll call is taken, I want to show up faithfully. I pray you do, too. I want all of us to be fit for service, always, however unique that may be. God knows.

There’s beauty in diversity. God has purposed it. Embrace it. Exercise your faith with a purpose. Train. Serve.

Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit. And there are varieties of ministries, and the same Lord. There are varieties of effects, but the same God who works all things in all persons.
Love in Christ,

Ed Collins