God's call requires commitment

“One of our country’s most beloved Presidents was Abraham Lincoln. He had the great misfortune of being at the helm of our nation during one of it’s most troubled times. The once united States had split in two, and the armies of the North and South were waging an incessant war that claimed the lives of more men than have died in any war since.

“Lincoln felt the tragedy of this war more than anyone could have guessed. He mourned the deaths of soldiers and spent long periods visiting the sick and wounded in the Union hospitals. The constant shedding of blood was sometimes almost more than he could bear. Then, in the midst of the war, his own son died and the President was literally brought to his knees.

“In the middle of the week, Lincoln did what he often did during those days, he found refuge at a Presbyterian church in Washington, D.C. He went with an aide, sat with his stovepipe hat in his lap, and tried hard not to interrupt the meeting by sitting off to the side, near the preacher’s study.

“The minister opened the Scriptures and taught from God’s Word. And when he finished, the president stood quietly, straightened his coat, took his hat in hand and began to leave.

His aide stopped him and said, ‘What did you think of the sermon, Mr. President?’
He said, ‘I thought the sermon was carefully thought through, eloquently delivered.’
The aide said, ‘You thought it was a great sermon?’

“Lincoln replied, ‘No I thought he failed… he did not ask of us something great.’”

Even in the midst of such turmoil in his life, President Lincoln knew that when one listens to God he should expect that the Lord will call him to something great.

I believe that God is, indeed, calling us to something great. I believe God wants to use New Beginnings to help make a difference in the lives of people on the Cumberland Plateau. I also know, however, that such a call requires something on our part as well!

Someone said, “You must get involved to have an impact. No one is impressed with the won-lost record of the referee.”

Jesus said it this way, “…If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me” (Matthew 16:24).