Think Bigly

A couple of months ago, my siblings and I decided to form a new club. And, well, that’s the name. It’s also the motto. Yep...“Think Bigly.” Kinda catchy, huh? I know, I know, the title is kinda “cutesy.” But, we like it. It’s easy to remember. We think it rolls off the tongue quite nicely. It makes us smile.

Now you may be wondering to yourself, “What are those Milnes’ kiddos doing now???” Well, the reason is simple:

We serve a big God.

And, He wants us to think.

Bigly.

There is a world out there that is dying for love. There are souls in my neighborhood that have not said, “Yes, Lord Jesus.” There is a drug addict on the streets of New York City who has not yet heard the Gospel. There is a little girl in Burkina Faso who is waiting to hear of the God Who sent His Son for her. So, we Milnes kiddos have decided to remind one another of the heart of God, and encourage each other to pursue that heart, by forming our club of “bigly thinkers.”

Now, it doesn’t mean that we Milnes’ are so egotistical that we have labeled ourselves as “big-thinkers.” Nope. But, we want to be big thinkers. We want to be Kingdom of Heaven thinkers. We want to be thinking about God’s inheritance. You see, as believers God is our inheritance:

"The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are God's children. Now if we are children, then we are heirs -- heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ" (Romans 8:16-17).

"Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In His great mercy He has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade -- kept in heaven for you" (I Peter 1:3-5).

What an inheritance that is – salvation, reconciliation and relationship! But, it goes beyond me, and this is where bigly thinking comes in. There is another angle to the inheritance that we like to think about – the fact that people are His inheritance:

"Ask of Me, and I will make the nations your inheritance, the ends of the earth your possession" (Psalm 2:8).

"Save Your people and bless Your inheritance; be their Shepherd and carry them forever" (Psalm 28:9).

"Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord, the people He chose for His inheritance" (Psalm 33:12).

People are the inheritance of the Lord! And, the inheritance of the Lord is still growing -- He is still looking for more people who will say, "Yes, Lord Jesus.” If souls are the heartbeat of God – if His very DNA is agape for people – then what a privilege it is to pray souls into the Kingdom. What a privilege it is to reach out and to be His hands and His feet to the lost. But, the only way that can happen is if we get His ideas on how it is that He would have us serve Him. Learn to hear His voice. Learn to be Spirit-led. Learn to think bigly. And, watch in wonder as He causes His inheritance to grow.

God is a creative God. So, serving Jesus won’t mean cookie-cutter mold for everyone. He may call you into children’s ministry. He may call you to become a physician who is able to be an expression of the compassion of Jesus. He may call you to be an engineer who plants churches in Asia on the side. He may call you to teach drama to street kids in Chicago. He may call you to be a mom who raises her children in the fear and admonition of the Lord. He may call you to create storylines for singing and dancing tomatoes. He may call you overseas. He may call you to be a writer whose passion is to widen the Church’s awareness of AIDS in Africa. With Jesus, the opportunities for thinking bigly are unlimited. And because it is so unlimited, rather than keeping our eyes on one another, we in the Church must keep our eyes on the Father as to how it is that He would have us be expressions of His glory. And, when our eyes are kept only on Him, He gives us a precious promise when He says:

“I will instruct thee and teach thee in the way which thou shalt go: I will guide thee with mine eye.” ~Psalm 32:8

Thinking bigly doesn’t bring personal glory to me. Most of the time, it won’t be “big” in the world’s eyes. It may not even be “big” in the eyes of the Church. And that’s okay. Let Jesus give you ideas that are so big that they are Kingdom of Heaven ideas. Don’t worry about what the other guy is thinking.

So, think outside of the box. Next time you go out to eat, order the raspberry iced-tea instead of the lemon. Take challenging classes in school. Be creative. Don’t try and fit into the mold. Instead, become all that He would have you be. There is a big world out there. He is a big God. And, if you seek the heart of the Father, He will give you Kingdom-inspired ideas that only He can give to minister His compassion to the world around you. He will cause you to think bigly. He will give you dreams to reach the lost. He will give you vision for the drug addict. He will give you a heart for the fatherless.

It’s about the Kingdom.

It’s about souls.

Think Bigly.