Neil Finn, the medicore and me

The dictionary describes the mediocre as of middling quality, of only moderate excellence, neither good nor bad, indifferent, ordinary. I describe the lazy and self-satisfied as navel gazers. And I should know. I’ve been one most of my life.

Neil Finn, lead singer of Crowded House, referred to such mediocrity when he sang, “You’re a small boat made of china going nowhere on a mantel-piece.” I see my life—interesting, detailed, but not really making a difference, like the words of that song.
Finn later sings, “You can find the sleep but not the dream.” This describes a lot of young adults, even—no, especially—Seventh-day Adventists. We get so busy, we forget we’re here for a purpose.

God says something even bigger than Neil Finn
“Wake up from your sleep, climb out of your coffins; Christ will show you the light” (Ephesians 5:14, The Message).
Service elevates Leighton Charles Heise above mediocrity. If that means going to another country, I will do it. If it means picking up a Bible for an hour to focus my day, I will do it. Service draws me out of myself and into an awareness of others.
It motivates me to put down the remote and pick up the phone. It calls me to the beach, the street, the piano, the study desk. It’s about being ready to become whoever God wants me to become. It’s a fun thing, but it demands it become a way of life.
Picking up the phone is service? Hitting the beach for a surf with a friend when you should be preparing a Sabbath school lesson or emailing your mother is a benefit to humankind? You bet. Sensing a need in another person—and then meeting that need—is definitely service. And you don’t need to leave the country as a volunteer to be of service for God. Think of the places in your community you could go to meet a person in need.

Jesus is the ultimate example of service
Divine and human, He controls the elements and commands the loyalty of the entire universe (save some rebels on earth), yet He chooses to serve others.
Phillipians 2:6 shows how humble He is, and how much of a servant to humankind He becomes. “[Jesus] . . . didn’t think so much of himself that he had to cling to the advantages of that status no matter what. Not at all. When the time came, he set aside the privileges of deity and took on the status of a slave, became human! He lived a selfless, obedient life and then died a selfless, obedient death—and the worst kind of death at that: a crucifixion” (The Message).
I hope my life of service will be a humbling experience where I submit my life to God and let Him lead to others in need. Maybe that’s what Neil Finn meant when he sang, “Always take the weather with you.”

If you're interested in being a volunteer, you can visit www.adventistvolunteers.org to find out more, check out some of the volunteer positions or get in contact with people who can help you with your volunteering dreams.
Or you can write to HMasters@adventist.org.au to find out more about volunteering!