Carrot Juice and the Kingdom

The day I (almost) found my purpose.

You can scroll down to listen. 

The 12-year-old me was excited about the Juice Stall my dad and I were setting up for the food festival hosted by our church. The money collected from all the stalls went to the fund for buying land for a new church building.

By evening the food festival began and was soon in full thrust, and boy, was I excited. Each family took up different stalls. I walked around inviting all my friends to our stall. And whenever any of my friends came over, I made sure I bragged enough to make them feel turning carrots into juice is almost magic. It was a busy day of bragging and helping my dad make the juice. By the time the food festival came to a close, I felt like I had found my life's purpose - I felt like I was born to make carrot juice! Our stall was a success. So was the whole food festival that night. All the stalls together raised a good amount. Surely it was a small sum compared to the money that was needed. But, we knew every little penny counted.

The Counting day

Years have gone by, and the food fest has come to a close and the counting was done. But approaching fast is the day when all our efforts in building God's Kingdom will be counted too. We will stand before God, giving an account to Him.

It's a worthwhile question to ask where our efforts are concentrated. What happens in the 24 hours that we are given every day? Where does our money go to? What happens to the degree you will earn or have earned? What dreams do you have for your children? If we were to sit back and think, we may be surprised to find that our efforts and investments are going to, the wrong place - to build "our" Kingdom instead of God's. Someone may ask me, "Well, by what standard?". I would say, definitely not mine(trust me, my wicked heart would set only selfish standards), but the standard that Jesus set.

We will stand before God, giving an account to Him.

Kingdom First

Jesus said, "Seek the Kingdom First." Not second, not after a while, not years later, not after other things, not if you find the time - but first! Now by that standard, how many of us can come to God to let him take count of our efforts on the final day?

The final command and the commission given by our Master was a call to go and make disciples. But as it's famously and rightly put - "the great commission has indeed become the great omission." No wonder Christian organizations are shutting down due to lack of people. It's not surprising that I heard about the pastor who cut contact with his son because his son chose to be a missionary. Few of us can name a person whom we are currently witnessing to, and praying for. I was a bit startled when a parent came to me with the 'concern' of his son showing too much desire to be involved in ministry. Shouldn't he be happy his son had the desire to do ministry? While the best place to help people with their profession is a remote place, why are our nurses, doctors, and engineers eager to migrate abroad where there are already more than enough professionals? How about this statement from Jesus, "You are the light of the world!". Well, if we are, then why are we not going to the dark places as the light? What's the use of being a light while denying light to the ones in darkness?

What's the use of being a light while denying light to the ones in darkness?

Let's face it, we have enough proof in our own lives and around us to say that we have forgotten about keeping and seeking the Kingdom first. Our spiritual life and efforts are reduced to being occasionally involved in a spiritual activity - going to church, being part of the choir etc. While all of these are important and have their place, they can't be a replacement for meeting the physical and spiritual needs of the neediest people around us.

I hope we wake up and realize that the counting day is fast approaching for all of us and that we live in a day that requires more commitment, radical decisions, and meaningful choices that keep the Kingdom first. I am happy to say that I have found my life's purpose(it's not to make carrot juice), and I'm hoping I'll be able to give God something to count.