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Hold the Door!

Hello out there! It has been a little while. Many things have happened and I will post about them shortly, but this post was compelled by something I saw on Sunday evening.

I am a HUGE fan of the Game of Thrones series on HBO. I have read the books by George R.R. Martin and am (im)patiently awaiting book 6 (Mr. Martin, if by some miracle you are reading this....please, please, please hurry. Kthxbye!). I waited until now to post this to avoid spoiling the show for those who were not able to watch on Sunday evening. That said.......



**********************************SPOILER ALERT********************************


In this latest episode, we not only get the explanation of how the character called Hodor (real name: Willis) got this nickname, but we also watch him give his life for Bran Stark, his charge. Without explaining too much of the plot, Bran recklessly summons an evil undead hoard and has to be taken to safety (since he cannot walk). By the end of the episode, the only thing standing between Bran and certain death was Hodor's commitment to the last command he received before his death: "Hold the Door!"

Indeed, he did just that. It cost him his life, but he held the door long enough for Bran to escape. Hodor had one job and he gave it his all.

So, of course, this got me thinking. As Christians, we were given one job, one last directive from our Leader before He left this world: to go into all the world and preach the gospel. That's it. Yet, sometimes it seems like to the 21st century church has strayed so far from that directive. We have become exclusive and care more about enriching ourselves than reaching out to others. And unfortunately, during the few and far between times we do engage in outreach, we fail to present the gospel. We present some watered down, get happy version of Christianity that is so far from the true Gospel and message of Jesus Christ that it can only appropriately be called another religion.

 But we have one job. One. Evangelize the world. For some of us , that may mean going to some far flung country, learning a new language and bringing this message of salvation. But for many and more of us, it simply means living an exemplary, Christlike life on a daily basis, thus displaying Christ to the world.

We have to do more than just go to church. We have to do more than serve on church boards and committees and plan church events. We have to be change agents in this world. And let's be clear, being a change agent is not really about social and political change (like many "Christians" like to declare). Rather it is about being a catalyst for a heart and mind change towards the things of God.

Going forward, let us take example from Hodor. Let us commit and be uniquely focused on accomplishing our "one job," though it cost us our life.

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