Just 2 months have gone by since we walked out the door of our home in Minnesota starting our adventure. I would like to think that we are all changed and transformed people, and I'm sure we are to some degree. The reality is that I have discovered more of my selfishness and my sinful heart than I would have by staying in my busy lifestyle at home in the middle of my comfort. I wouldn't have had to face the fact that I really don't like to be uncomfortable or outside of my control. I could just go on joking about how much I like to have my way, instead of seeing how ugly that really is. I don't know why I was born in a country and own a home that is huge by these standards. I'm not a more valuable person because I live in a land of comfort. I hope that I will appreciate even the smallest comfort once I go home, but honestly I doubt it will take long before I settle back into my life of expectations. What do I do with the fact that I live with plenty, when others live in want? People that I have met and walked with, if even for a short time, will continue in their struggles and I will go home to my easy life. I have no answers, it doesn't change their lives if I should sell everything I own, even if I gave it all to them. It wouldn't give them better plumbing or an endless supply of food, they would still have dust on everything. Both here and there we would be tempted to fill our time with things that do not satisfy. Which leads me to the fact that it is all pointless. If all our life is about our accumulation of "stuff" and we forget that we are made to bring God glory with our lives, than we're missing out. I've seen some wonderful examples of people who understand that here in Africa, with the full time missionaries and many students who have committed their lives to serving Christ. I want to bring home a little of that zeal and that purpose as I too fix my eyes on the goal before me.
Philippians 3:13-16 (The Message
"Friends, don't get me wrong: By no means do I count myself an expert in all of this, but I've got my eye on the goal, where God is beckoning us onward - to JESUS. I'm off and running, and I'm not turning back.
So let's keep focused on that goal, those of us who want everything God has for us. If any of you have something else in mind, something less than total commitment, God will clear your blurred vision - you'll see it yet! Now that we're on the right track, let's stay on it.
Pray for us as we end our time in Ndu, Cameroon and prepare to reenter our life in Minnesota and the mission God has for us there.
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