Amateur Hour

Sunday, September 16th, 2012     by Lori Roeleveld     3 Comments
Amateurs.
Am I right?
The world is full of amateurs.
In fact, as a viewing public, we appear to be fascinated by them.
Evidenced by:
The meteoric rise in popularity of reality TV.
Singing and talent shows wholly devoted to undiscovered amateurs.
Youtube.
Blogs.
Movies written and filmed by unknowns.
This is the age of the amateur.
I love how God uses even popular culture to call His people out of hiding.
That’s right. This prevalence of amateur culture is His way of prodding us” non-professional” believers out of our pews and into the arena.
It’s amateur hour, people, and that means us.
The greatest act of divine faith is that God has entrusted His sacred and holy message to amateurs. You think auditions for American Idol are bad, imagine what we look like to the crowd of spectators watching from on high.
But I think Jesus revels in our amateur status –
just as the whole world watches when some unknown, bullied teen wows the judges on the X factor – so our Lord holds His breath in anticipation when one of us broken vessels finds the courage to walk out onto center stage and deliver whatever message it is we’ve heard from Him to whatever audience is gathered.
The more we fumble, falter, and stammer our way through clumsy efforts at
loving others as we would be loved or
standing up for truth or
sharing the story of our relationship with Jesus,
the more He pours out His power and grace like a spotlight, like applause from heaven, like a deciding vote in our favor.
The Game is on, loved ones. It is our turn in the arena. The gates are raised and we are being called out.
Amateur hour is upon us and heaven watches and waits.
Sure, they may laugh and jeer from the cheap seats. The visible audience who have scrounged enough together for their own tickets may boo us, hurl insults, or spears.
But higher up, there are priceless seats, purchased with the blood of Christ, and the voices from those seats cheer on our every effort, that great cloud of witnesses.
The hour is upon us and there is too much work to leave to the pros – it’s time for us amateurs to strap on our armor and enter the ring.
Don’t be found lingering in the wings. Better to face the howls of the crowd than the mirror of our own cowardice when our hour has arrived.
We are not white feather warriors. We are amateurs but we are children of the High King.
“Therefore do not throw away your confidence, which has a great reward. For you have need of endurance, so that when you have done the will of God you may receive what is promised.  For,“Yet a little while, and the coming one will come and will not delay;   but my righteous one shall live by faith, and if he shrinks back, my soul has no pleasure in him.” But we are not of those who shrink back and are destroyed, but of those who have faith and preserve their souls.” Hebrews 10:35-39
So, let’s do it. Let’s enter the ring, with all that we are, and deliver the message entrusted to us no matter how we look or how we sound – voices cracking, imperfect bodies, unpolished words, wounded, weary, untrained, and small.
When we stand in the spotlight of Jesus Christ, He will shine through and we will be who He sees that we are.
But we won’t know that until we walk out into the arena. So let’s go.
We are not of those who shrink back, loved ones, even if we are just a bunch of amateurs.


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3 Comments

    The Conversation

  1. Page After Page--A place to connect says:
    September 16, 2012 at 8:47 pm

    I’m watching the video first. And it’s exactly the kind of novel I would love to write. Thank you, Mrs. Roeleveld.

    Reply
  2. Lori Stanley Roeleveld says:
    September 16, 2012 at 10:09 pm

    I pray that you do. Find your voice. Work hard. Pray always. Never give up. Now – enter the arena.

    Reply
  3. Glenda Parker Fiction Writer says:
    September 17, 2012 at 7:12 pm

    I think if you check out the bible that all the people God used were amateurs. He doesn’t need skill or talent He needs willingness and obedience. I love that He wants to use even me. God bless you all.

    Glenda Parker

    Reply