Reflectionary XVII

I have labored in vain. I have spent my strength for nothing and vanity.

So often, we skip over little nuggets of truth in Scripture, especially when they are nestled adjacent to more famous passages. Take this line from Isaiah 49 (above).

We can all relate to this.

I have been musing about people that attend church for a while; even becoming quite active. Sometimes they lead great programs or missions. They contribute lots of money. They serve in powerful ways. They lead the congregation in prayer. They guest preach. Maybe they even become full-time ministers.

But then, you look around years later, and they're gone - gone from Church, that is. On Sunday mornings they have drifted back into the comfortable pattern of the morning paper and news programs.

Why?

What would the size of the Church be, if people would just stay?

I attend a medium-sized, and growing, church. But when I think about the people that were regulars fifteen years ago (when I began), I notice that only a fraction of the present attendance is composed of those same people. And most of them have not moved away. They just stopped coming to church.

I think a big part of the reason, is that they are feeling what Isaiah was referring to in this passage. Isaiah 49 itself is about God working his plan for the ages, through Isaiah, through each one of us. We all have a sacred mission, a calling, and it is one that builds the Kingdom.

I can say that the work that I do, what I believe is my "calling", has been all for naught, for twenty or thirty years now. My activity level increases, it builds in momentum and intensity. My focus is much greater now than it was five years ago, or five months ago (ask me if you want specifics on my calling).

But the vision, which is so clear to me; is utterly out of reach of the people that need to embrace it, if it is to become sustainable and relevant to building the Kingdom.

I feel like I have labored in vain. I feel like my strength has been spent for nothing; and for vanity - just to make me feel important. And this conclusion is affirmed all the time, by people around me.

But if I read these words of Isaiah, and realize that one of the greatest prophets in history had the same frustrations as me, then I can be encouraged.

Words of doubt and defeat are turned into a call to arms.