The International Illustration of Inconvenience

I am not what one would call a world traveler. I haven’t been to the outer most parts of the world. I haven’t seen what other cultures are like. I haven’t experienced what it feels like to be in a foreign land. But I can still make a perception based on the very little knowledge I have – the idea of “being inconvenienced.” It seems to be a universal, an axiom – that there is nowhere on this earth that is truly at peace. In every city, in every nation, on every continent, there are individuals who either inconvenience themselves or are inconvenienced by others. This I know.

Likewise – I think that if one wants to be a world changer they have to be willing to be inconvenienced. Going with the flow is easy, but when it comes to going against the grain, being inconvenienced is not only probable but inevitable. I’m not talking about “the-microwave-burnt-my-popcorn” inconvenience, but I am talking about truly being willing to put others’ lives in front of your own.

I think that Jesus paid the difference so that we could make a difference. The wage of sin was death, and Jesus died so that we might live and bring life to the world. To be salt and light doesn’t seem easy, especially in the realm of the New Testament church. It seems like when the supernatural happened, it was seen as it was, beyond the natural. The natural to them was stoning, public disgrace, and being exiled.

Think of it this way: imagine that you found a plant or food that could potentially end world hunger. Wouldn’t you want to learn how to properly cultivate and nurture it? Wouldn’t you want to tell everyone you knew, especially those starving, about this food that could save their lives? Similarly, we have the seed of the Gospel to sow into the world, and our jobs are simply to plant the seed.

In Matthew 13, Jesus tells the Parable of the Sower. In this parable, a farmer goes out and plants seed among many different types of terrain. I’m sure Jesus’ audience thought this was foolish of the farmer, but I think that was his point. It would be convenient for the farmer to put the seed on the good soil – the farmer being symbolic for one who sows the Word. It would be convenient for me to just tell the Gospel to people who are seeking but that isn’t my call. My call is to go out and tell the Good News of God to the whole world, regardless of how I think they’ll respond. For me to do anything else would be for me to put myself above God.

Are you willing to inconvenience yourself for the sake of greater work? You have the potential to save the world. The world is hungering for truth and it’s at your fingertips, dancing behind your teeth to be told to the lost. Are you willing to spread the Word wherever it needs to be sent? You don’t need to travel the world to find a lost and hurting soul. You might not even have to travel across the room before you find someone that needs to know the Truth. Are you willing to make a difference? Are you ready to change the world?

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