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Dear God of Words,
I'm really excited by the prospect of receiving a letter from You!! I'm a die-hard fan. Something of a Jesus freak even! And I'm not ashamed to show the world who I belong to!
There is so much I want to do for You, Lord. Honestly, I don't even know where to start. But I want to make an impact in the world for you, to really make a difference, to bring crowds of people to you! Sometimes I feel like I'm being a bit 'Ambitious', but maybe that's just my 'Burden' for the world, you know? What are your thoughts?
Love,
Burdened
Dear Burdened,
I'm thrilled to be writing to you, Kid! I love your spirit. You remind me a lot of this friend I had hanging around with me, when I was on earth. Full of energy! I had a hard time keeping him down. He sees me hovering above the ground having a chat with Moses and Elijah and before the others are done gawking, he's looking for sticks to build us a tent. I walk on water and he's like, "Be right with you, boss," and steps out of the boat. He always reminded me of that kid in every class that throws his arm up screaming, "Me, me, me," without waiting to hear the full question. How I love him!
I'm happy to see your predicament, Burdened. It's not often that I'm asked, "Am I wanting to do too much for you?" So, in a way, you're doing ok. But there are times when we can lose our way when it comes to the motive for all of our Christian activity.
So let me see if I can help you tell the difference between Burden and Ambition.
The point at which a Burden becomes Ambition is when the focus of the activity changes from others to you. If I were to put it simply, the internal monologue of the Burdened is something along the lines of, "The world is in need. People need to hear about what Christ has done for them; there are so many suffering that can't find help." But the moment it becomes Ambition, it ceases to be other-focused. It sounds more like this, "I must do something for the world. People need my help! I must save souls and lives."
The sure-shot way of recognizing Ambition, kid, is this. Ask yourself this - if your role in the Serving and Saving was restricted to the walls of your room, would you still feel as inclined to doing it? If I told you to just pray (and that's no mean feat, for many have achieved more for others through prayer than their presence) and to let me take care of the work through another, would still feel that same desire to be of help?
If you would, then it's a Burden. And the thing about Burdens, they put you in a bit more discomfort than Ambition does. Usually because, the more you focus on the other person, the clearer his need is to you and the need is always so big. The more you see of it, the more you realize your own inadequacy to meet his need. And that's the kind of discomfort that drives you to your knees, before you even step out to be of help to him. And that really is the beauty of a Burden - it begins and ends in me. I am the source and I am the solution!
With Ambition though, both source and solution are, most often, you. You are already working under the assumption that you have everything it takes and more to meet the need around you, aren't you? You have focused so much on yourself that the other's need looks way smaller than your capabilities.
That's why Ambition invites a thousand (however reluctant) and sends them home half fed.
But a Burden is like the fresh, warm, home-cooked meal for the truly hungry. It may feed a few but they will have had their fill. It takes a lot more time and effort, but its impact is lasting.
So kid, I'd say take your time. My friend - he hit a couple of road blocks along the way, like an embarrassing episode of denying me in public, losing faith in me and fleeing back to his old job. It drastically reduced his speed but his passion remained undeterred and eventually his Ambition was tempered into a genuine Burden. That's when he became truly useful to me. I have a feeling you will get there eventually too!
Love,
The God of the Burdened