Here I am on the eve of starting a very long journey to return to Zambia Africa for clean water projects. (9,527 miles, but who's counting.) I have been asked many times by many people, "Are you ready?" or "Are you excited?" The truth is yes...and sort of all at the same time. How can one be ready to be away from their family for a record number of days? How can one say they are excited without feeling like you are admitting to be excited to be away from the people you love most on this earth?
Only one thing can drive a home-body like me to travel 9,527 miles from my comfortable bed and comfortable routine. (I love my routine!) That one thing is Jesus Christ. He said in Luke 9:23,"Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me." Now I would never compare anything I do to Jesus carrying his cross to Calvary for me, but I think he was being literal about the other part to deny ourselves. I mean let's be honest, in our day to day lives we go to great lengths to bring ourselves comfort. For me it's being a home-body and my daily routine. Lame to you maybe, but brings me great comfort.
But more than that it's daily seeing my wife and kids who I love intensely. But what did Jesus have to say about that in Luke 14? “If anyone comes to me and does not hate father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters—yes, even their own life—such a person cannot be my disciple." I didn't go there, Jesus did. I'll let you do your own study on what he meant by hate, but again Christ is calling us to follow Him at a price. Theologian and dissident Dietrich Bonhoeffer wrote "When Christ calls a man, he bids him come and die." (Cost of Discipleship 1937) Bonhoeffer didn't believe in cheap grace.
I remember telling a friend of mine one time that I loved Jesus more than my wife. His first question was did she know that. She knows and even better, she approves. It is for that reason that I can confidently leave my family and deny myself my comfortable life and go to a place where Jesus has called me. While I can tell you truthfully I am not excited to be away from my family I know that where Jesus has called me, He is waiting. And I am incredibly excited about spending the month in Africa with Jesus!
So I encourage you to listen close. Listen to where Jesus is calling you in this season of your life. He may be calling you to another country, or to a need in your town, or just to a neighbor who really needs to know someone genuinely cares about them. Give it a try today.
Glad to see this post from you. While reading it I couldn't help but think about how interesting how parallel our lives have become. We spent virtually the first 10 years of our lives together (as friends) then no contact for many years. In college I was a mission's major. I have done short-term missions trips but expected to be a full-time missionary. Now I am married with two girls. Not on the mission field... just living the rat race and serving God in the places he gives me in the moment. I've gotten over (for the most part) the jealousy of my college friends who are on the field. I can see God's work in my life... undoing the dysfunction that I received growing up. The verse that means the most to me re: missions was directed toward the pharisees, because I am a recovering pharisee. Matt 23:15 "Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You travel over land and sea to win a single convert, and when you have succeeded, you make them twice as much a child of hell as you are." This is what would have happened if I had gone on "the field" right away. I THANK GOD, in his grace, he did not allow me to go. All this rambling does not apply to you and how you are willing to follow God's direction on the field... just my thoughts on missions in general. We could have ended up with very opposite lives but instead we are both strong believers with a heart for missions. Just made me go "hmm..."
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