I noted previously that I care about the issues that I am addressing because of love, I would like to also acknowledge that I care because of obligation. The two do not have to be mutually exclusive, obligation and love. There are times when I do something because I love my wife, but at the same time I have an obligation to do that very thing. In those times I become much like Paul, wherein I cannot claim to a right for boasting in what I have done, saying, "look at me, I love my wife this much!" because someone could just as easily come back with the fact that I was obligated to do it the whole time. In the same way, I am writing these arguments and sharing my thoughts out of a feeling of obligation.
I know that some of what I am about to write may sound conceited or arrogant. I can only ask you to please understand that it is not my intent that anything I write should be read as such. Instead, I am simply trying to be honest about what I feel I am obligated to do. Obligation, in one sense, removes pride, because I cannot say that what I am obligated to do is because of my power or my might, but it is all because of the power and might of the one who has called me. That which God has commanded me to do is what he empowers me to do, and therefore it is not my might which I point to in stating my obligation, but it is the awesome and wonderful power of God, which no man can comprehend and which no man may refuse.
To whom do I feel obligated?
I feel obligated to my friends. There are so many people I miss and have not had the opportunity to talk to in a while since my wife and I moved from Louisville. I feel like I owe them some contact, some way of trying to share with them what I'm thinking about day-to-day. I used to be able to talk with them at church, or in hallways of seminary, or just on the phone or at dinner. In any number of ways I used to be able to talk to my wonderful brothers and sisters about what I was thinking about in the faith, to encourage them and to find encouragement from them. I do not have that opportunity any more, and I want to be able to continue to share with them, that perhaps they will be encouraged.
Beyond just the wonderful family I had at church I have had the opportunity of being born in a "digital age." There are friends I have never met personally, people I have never been less than 1000 miles away from whom I have had the opportunity to talk to, to laugh with, and to share with. Because of changing circumstances I am not able to be online to share time with those people any more. I know I spoke of my faith to them when I had the opportunity, but I hope for those who still have interest that they will find more information here, something to encourage or help them, maybe even something to challenge them. While I have never seen some of my friends in person, I still think of them as friends and I hope that some of them are able to enjoy reading this blog.
I feel obligated to those I do not know, who may be struggling with any of these issues. Just because I have never had the opportunity to sit down to lunch with someone does not mean that I should not care about them. The fact is there are many people I have never met, but I know that if I had an opportunity to get to know them, I would find that what they are going through is painful and worth taking the time to speak to them about. So, I hope that those people whom I have never had the opportunity to meet with will find something of value in what I write.
I feel an obligation to the church. I have had opportunities that the majority of Christians will never have. I was blessed to be able to go to one of the premier seminaries in the world, the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. I have been able to spend years reading and studying. And, because I have been given these wonderful opportunities, I feel obligated to try and use what has been given me to help others, either in logic or in faith.
I know that not many people may ever read anything I write here. I know that most people who read this are those who think similarly to myself already anyway. But, I know also that I have had great and many opportunities to learn and to be built up in knowledge. To refuse to use that which I have been given for the benefit of others would be both selfish and foolish.
What benefit is knowledge to a man if he keeps it to himself? What benefit can I be to the cause of Christ if I never try and share the great gospel of Christ and the outworking of Scriptural principles with others? I am obligated to share because my life is not my own. Christ died for my sins, he daily intercedes for me with the father, and he has given me the Spirit of God so that I might die to sin, and live for him who called me. Therefore, because God has given me wonderful opportunities, I must serve others even as Christ commanded.
I have limited money (as do we all). I have limited time (as do we all). I have no congregation to minister to, and am separated by distance from many friends and family. But, I have an opportunity to utilize the resources of the modern world to try and fulfill my obligation, which is the obligation of every Christian: to use my gifts to build up the church. Yes, I need to use my gifts within the local church context, and I am seeking to do that as well, but if I can by some means do more than that, why not try and do more good than I could do otherwise?
Perhaps all I'm doing is for naught. Perhaps no one but one or two, who already agree with me will ever read this. Even so, it does not matter. As I said before, this is not about my pride, and if no man ever sets eyes on anything I have written, then at least I believe I have been faithful to the God who called me. May God be served by what I write, for in the end the most important reason for everything I do is my love for him, and my obligation to him who saved me.
May we all find that our obligation is to love God more and more each day. May we each find a way to fulfill that obligation through our lives and in our hearts. For he is worth it. He is worth everything.
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