Are You In?

The third installment in the Hobbit series has just been released.  I haven't seen it yet, but soon.  The Hobbit is a classic story of a simple man (or rather a Hobbit) caught up in an adventure and discovering that there is more inside of himself than he ever expected.  There comes a point in the story, early on when Bilbo needs to decide if he is going on the adventure.  Most of the Dwarfs believe what Bilbo knows for certain in his heart, Bilbo is not up to the task.  He is a soft little man who only wants comfort and is not prepared for an adventure.

So Bilbo decides that he is in.  He is very stressed that he left in a rush and forgot his pocket handkerchief, but he is in.  And along the way he discovers more than he bargained for.

We love the story of the unlikely hero against great odds.  Think about how interesting would a story be if it was about a well prepared, well trained, well equipped hero facing a reasonable foe that is dispatched according to plan and the hero is home for supper.  I can see it now.


Jumping In

At some point our unlikely adventurer has to decide if they are in our out.  Like the person at the pool, are you on the deck or in the water.  You can only hover in the air for so long.  I think that making the commitment changes our perspective from a spectator to an adventurer.  It makes us say to ourselves, "OK, I'm in, time to rise and meet the challenge."  Up until that point we are asking ourselves, "Can I do it?." After the commitment it becomes, "How will I do it?" And those are two very different questions.

Watch this clip from Pastor Mike.

God wants us in.  He has great adventures for us, but first we need to be in.  We can ask ourselves how will we ever do it?  The answer is always, "with God's help." but that is hard to see from the outside.

Joseph and Mary and the shepherds and the magi all had to say at one point, "I'm in." The world was never the same and neither were they.  Now it's our turn.