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| C. Kevin Thompson |
My wife has been reading Jen Hatmaker’s book, Interrupted. She’s been reading me
excerpts that have caused her to pause and examine her life. Generally speaking
(because I have not read the book), Hatmaker challenges the reader to examine a
life of luxury, comfort, and ministering to the saved only. It asks crucial
questions about how we Americans live our lives, especially those of us within
the sanctuary walls.
Of course, this “debate” is as old as the church herself. It
actually predates the church and can be found in the Old Testament as well.
Israel was blessed over and over again, only to wish God away for earthly kings
and foreign gods. The Sanhedrin was nothing more than an Israeli form of our
Congress in Washington, D.C., with liberals and conservatives, duking it out
politically and religiously, all the while making sure their well-to-do
lifestyle wasn’t negatively impacted.
It’s a constant trouble for those who live in affluent
cultures, isn’t it? Having been born in one myself, like many of you reading
this blog, it’s all I’ve even known. Sure, we’ve moved around from state to
state. We’ve had very little. We’ve had plenty. But regardless of the situation
or the time in our lives, God has always provided. His supply was not relative
to our situation.
I remember one Christmas when our oldest daughter was just a
toddler. We literally had $20 to spend on Christmas. For the whole family of
three. I remember buying my wife a bag of mini-snickers (one her favorite candy
bars) and individually wrapping each one before placing them in her stocking.
It was about the quantity of the solace that year. Stretching that $20 in ways
we’ve never done since. And yet, we remark about how that is one of our most
beloved memories. It wasn’t about the gifts. It was about the giving. It wasn’t
about the stockings or the stacks of presents. It was about the sacrifice.
So, after having a discussion with Cindy about Jen Hatmaker’s
book late into the night not too long ago, I was on my way to work the next
morning. The conversation made me wonder about my “heart” when it comes to this
writer’s life we blog about here at SW.
One of the desires of my heart (cf. Psalm 37:1-4) has always been “to be able
to write full-time.” To have this “Plan B,” hobby-sort-of-thing—that has turned
into a second job—flourish enough to let me dwell in green pastures with my
laptop resting…, well, on my lap….while I sit on a balcony overlooking the
ocean…or against an old oak tree in the middle of a forty acre swath of the
Smoky Mountains.
But to realize this “dream” (some would call it “the America
Dream”), I would have to give up being an assistant principal at a middle
school.
A Christian AP at a public middle school.
Some would say the mission field doesn’t get any more fertile
than right there.
Jen Hatmaker would probably say that God has me right where He
wants me, so why would I want to do anything else? Why would I want to walk
away from such a plentiful harvest as this?
Could it be because the affluent trappings of my society have
encapsulated (some would probably argue “handcuffed”) my notions of what’s
important? In an ever-increasing, darkening world, where more and more homes
are broken, where more and more children are classified as homeless, where it
seems the world is bent on burning itself to the ground, could it be that my
heart’s desire is overriding God’s? And isn’t that usually what happens in
affluent societies?
I’m sure I know God and His Word well enough to know this:
He’s not in the business of crushing our dreams or our heart’s desire. He just
wants them to align with His Will first. To do this is to walk in the footsteps
of Christ. Jesus was sent to this groaning creation for the sole purpose of
doing the will of God (John 6:35-40). That “Will” was to see to it that whosoever
may come could do so.
So, maybe, like Jesus, my heart’s desire must become God’s
desire. My will must bend to God’s until it is gloriously broken. And then, and
only then, will my heart’s desire be granted.
But that’s the rub, isn’t it? When our will breaks, and God’s
will overtakes us, does our “heart’s desire” (e.g., my desire to be a full-time
writer on an ocean balcony) truly die? Or does it start to maneuver itself and
argue, like it is some kind of hostage negotiation?
If I am truly following Christ, “my will” must be taken up
daily, dragged up the hill to Golgotha, and put to death so that I may truly
live (Luke 9:23-26).
A
Clandestine Mission.
A Cryptic
Message.
A Chaste
Promise.
Blake
Meyer dreamed of a peaceful end to a dutiful career with the FBI. Married now,
his life was taking him in a new direction—a desk job. He would be an analyst.
Ride it out until retirement. Be safe so he could enjoy his grandchildren some
day.
But when
a notable member of the IRA is murdered in a London flat, Blake’s secretive
past propels him into the middle of a vindictive, international scheme so
hellish and horrific, it will take everything Blake possesses—all of it—to save
the United States from the most diabolical terrorist attack to date.
C. KEVIN
THOMPSON is a husband, a father, a grandfather, and a kid at heart.
Often referred to as “crazy” by his grandchildren, it’s only because he is.
He’s a writer. Need he say more?
The first three books of his Blake Meyer Thriller series are
out! Book 1, 30 Days Hath Revenge and
Book 2, Triple Time, are available!
Book 3, The Tide of Times, just
released in October! All three are on sale through New Year’s Eve! Also, the
second edition of his award-winning debut novel, The Serpent’s Grasp, is now available!
Kevin is a huge fan of the TV series 24, The Blacklist, Blue Bloods, and Criminal Minds, loves anything to do with Star Trek, and is a Sherlock Holmes fanatic, too. It’s quite
elementary, actually.
