Somebody Should...

As a chaplain, I don't hear it as much, but when I was preaching a near  constant mantra from members who were not active in ministry was, "Somebody should do something about..."  The elision (...) would be filled with anything from picking up the grounds to providing for the homeless.  My response was to invite them to act on it.

The response I normally received in return was something like,"Well, I didn't mean me!"  What I had to say in reply was very simply, "Why not?  You are somebody."  The conversation usually came to an end right about then with some stammering and stuttering as the member walked away without stepping up to the task.  The point?  Somebody should and somebody could but somebody wouldn't because too many don't want to be somebody when it comes to doing something about messy, real-life problems.

I hope you don't take this simply as a cutesy word play on an abstract idea but rather as a way of drawing attention to a real need in our world, in our individual lives and for the kingdom of God.  We need to be the somebody everyone talks about that sees a need and sets about to meet that need.  Our lives cannot be simply about us, our needs and our comfort zones.

I am not one who advocates that God has a purpose for everyone personally.  What I do firmly believe and strongly advocate is that God has a purpose and he has plans in play to which he invites each of us to participate.  There may be a major, long-standing mission or a divine intersection with a single individual in need - either can be a part of God's purpose intersecting with your life, inviting you into God's purpose and plans.

Here's the deal: We all can stop waiting for God to send an angel or a vision to let us know what our purpose in life is to be.  Our purpose in life is to be servants of the King and to serve where we see a need within our time, talents and resources.  Our kingdom calling is to be that "Somebody."  In stead of just saying, "Somebody should...," we need to say, "Something needs to be done and I am going to see what I can do."  Jus' Say'n.