Luke 6:27-28 (NIV)
27 “But to you who are listening I say: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, 28 bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you.”

Isaiah 58:6-12 (MSG)
6-9 “This is the kind of fast day I’m after:
to break the chains of injustice, get rid of exploitation in the workplace, free the oppressed,
cancel debts.
What I’m interested in seeing you do is:
Sharing your food with the hungry, inviting the homeless poor into your homes, putting clothes on the shivering ill-clad, being available to your own families.
Do this and the lights will turn on, and your lives will turn around at once. Your righteousness will pave your way. The God of glory will secure your passage.
Then when you pray, God will answer. You’ll call out for help and I’ll say, ‘Here I am.’

You’ll call out for help and will hear “Here I am.” How safe does that sound? “Here I am.” The calling is lofty – break the chains of injustice, get rid of exploitation, free the oppressed, cancel debts, love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, feed the hungry, clothe the cold, shelter the homeless. All things everyone agrees should be done – by someone who has the time to do it.

The response I get when I discuss volunteering opportunities is “that’s really nice”. That’s it.

God has a plan and it’s up to us to do it, not God to do it for us.

We’d like to think that we’re better than God, but we’re not. A simple look at what He calls us to do makes that perfectly clear. He has set lofty goals for how things should work, how they should be and it appears to be to much for most of us to even lift a finger to help work on achieving the goal.

There is a way home though, and once we are there, we’ll never be let go. It’s an investment in eternity through a little sacrifice today. Much like planning for retirement – the more you invest, the better your retirement, but if you don’t put anything in, retirement sucks.

John 6:40 (ESV) 40 For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who looks on the Son and believes in him should have eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day.”

Luke 15:8-10 (NIV)
8 “Or suppose a woman has ten silver coins (each worth about a day’s wages) and loses one. Doesn’t she light a lamp, sweep the house and search carefully until she finds it? 9 And when she finds it, she calls her friends and neighbors together and says, ‘Rejoice with me; I have found my lost coin.’ 10 In the same way, I tell you, there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.”

The expectations are high, the reward out of this world, the promise unbroken. God has given us the resources to do His calling. We need to execute the plan and come home to the planner.