A Love Story

Have you ever found yourself observing a pastor, thinking, "That person was born to be a pastor"? Or maybe you watch someone else in a ministry position and think, "That person is a natural." Pastors always seem to have it all together, don't they? They make it look so easy! You can almost imagine that one day God called their name and told them exactly what they were going to do with their life; where they would work, which day to start, and even who they should speak to their first day on the job. Seems simple enough, right?

Then why did it take me nearly 26 years just to recognize God's voice? And then another four years just to realize that I didn't have a clue what God was saying; it was like listening to a foreign language. I kept asking the question, "God, what is your will for my life?"

I don't know how it happened, or what triggered it, but it suddenly dawned on me that all this time I had been asking the wrong question. I should not have been asking God to tell me His will for my life. I should have been asking God to tell me His will. When I began thinking this way, things began to change for me. Now we were getting somewhere! God speaks His will through the Bible. And His will is quite simple: He wants to have a deep and true love relationship with His children. I am His child. That's it; a true love relationship. He loves me unconditionally, and it is His will that I understand this and accept it.

This changed everything! Now God began to draw me into Himself, and began revealing Himself to me in so many different ways and different places.

My wife Nettie and I have been youth sponsors at our church for nearly five years. God has been using that time to prepare me for leadership. I have begun to see that God is hard at work in the lives and hearts of the young people in our community. Once I acknowledged this, God invited me to be a part of it. He began to show me that what He is doing in the lives of the young people is a really big deal, and that He wants to share it with me; he wants me to be a part of it.

At first I didn't understand what God was trying to tell me. It was a foreign language. Now I know that this language has a name and I am learning to speak it; striving to become fluent. This languaage is called love. It is pure, unconditional love.

Every invitation that God hands out is drenched in unconditional love. The invitation says, "I am working on something, and I want you to be a part of it. But first I need to be a part of you. Please accept my love!" Every opportunity to serve God begins with one's relationship with Him. That is where mine began, and I have not looked back.

I was invited to tell my story. What better way than to begin the day with a love story?

Frank Froese gave this presentation at MCEC's Annual Church Gathering on April 24, 2010.