The Limits We Set on God
Drawn from the teaching of Professor Gary S. Maxey · 2 min read
"Lord, I will follow you, but not there. I will serve you, but not like that." Few believers say it aloud. Professor Gary Maxey says most of us carry some version of it.
Unspoken boundaries
In his book on the Highway of Holiness, Professor Maxey writes that almost all of us set unconscious limits on what we are willing to do to follow God. We say we would follow, but could never go to this place. Or we would follow, but could never accept poverty. We do not usually say these things, or even think them. Yet we have set parameters that limit God's full access to our lives.
Wesley's hundred
He quotes John Wesley, who said that if he had one hundred preachers who feared nothing but sin and desired nothing but God, clergy or laity, he would shake the gates of hell. Professor Maxey says Wesley was describing total consecration.
An example of no limits
He recalls a man who accepted God's call to live among the people who scavenge the huge garbage dumps of Cairo, so he could lead them to Jesus.
What to do first
Professor Maxey gives two responses. The first is to take time to listen to God. Many never reach this point on the journey because they are too busy to get alone with him. The second is to surrender. He models it with Abraham, who rose early the morning after God's command and saddled his donkey. That is the model, he says. It is painful, yet it is sweet, and it opens into blessing, joy and strength.
The short-term mission question
He also raises a question about the church today. In earlier centuries, going as a missionary meant giving up family and homeland, perhaps forever. Today, he notes, short-term mission travelers outnumber career missionaries by sixty to one, and deep consecration has become an almost forgotten focus. He believes God is calling the church back to it.
Exercise
Finish this sentence on paper five different ways: "I would follow God anywhere except ___." Pick the one that bothers you most. Pray about that one only. Do not promise anything. Ask God to make you willing to be made willing.
Drawn from the teaching of Professor Gary S. Maxey.
