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The Extra Step

Amos 3:3
“Do two walk together unless they have agreed to do so?”
When the Lord gave us our ability to choose, He gave us the ability to choose our friends, too. Often times, we choose friends whose company in which we enjoy and who share similar interests as us. When I decided to come to IGNITE, I knew that I was going to be with a group of people in which I would spend the next three months with, and depending on field assignments, the next ten. I was also aware that I knew nothing about these people and they knew nothing about me and the concerning question of, “will they like me?” crossed my mind more than once. Though we brought many differences to the table, I began growing close to these people within the first week of meeting them. A few weeks into our training, we were walking together down the street when Pastor Mike passed us and began to laugh. He soon told us that he thought it was humorous the very fact that had we not come to IGNITE, we would never be seen hanging out together. When I ponder that statement, I find myself laughing too, not because I think it is humorous but because it is true. The friendships I have made here are completely God ordained and so, so special because our differences help us realize that we must take the extra step to make them work. It has been such a blessing to grow with these people I now call my family because I choose everyday to love each one of them even when I can barely stand them. Warren W. Wiersbe quoted Karl Menninger in On Being a Servant of God which reads, “Loyalty means not that I am you, or that I agree with everything you say or that I believe you are always right. Loyalty means that I share a common ideal with you and that regardless of minor differences we fight for it, shoulder to shoulder, confident in one another’s good faith, trust, constancy, and affection.” Each one of us shares a common love for the Lord and regardless of our differences, to complete the work in which the Lord has called us to during this season of our lives, we must put our wants and desires aside and walk together in unity to complete it. 

Application
Today, I will tell each one of my teammates how I proud I am for the growth that has taken place in their lives since we arrived in January. 

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