People say the funniest things. Especially children.
Last week I had a
girl come up to me and say, “Aren’t you SO excited to go around the world?
The farthest I’ve ever been is CONNECTICUT!”
This past weekend was
our official Missions Weekend at church. It worked out well for me because I
got to share my heart and vision for my World Race to the congregation, as well
as set up a promo table and talk to individuals.
Ironically, our
kid’s curriculum just happened to kick off a quarter on missions on Sunday as well so it lined up perfectly. (All God, not me 🙂 At the beginning of class
I asked the kids, “So what do you think ‘missions’ is?” (I expected
the typical Sunday School answer of course)…”Going to another country to
tell people about Jesus”.
What I got kind of
surprised me.
The first kid
raised his hand and said, “I think it’s a QUEST!”
The next kid said,
“It’s when someone else sends you out on their behalf to save people for
them”.
The next kid, only
seven years old, said “It’s like an ADVENTURE to DESTINY!”
Wow. Okay.
I remember when I
first started telling people about the World Race…I was excited and of course
so nervous. One of the first people I ever told was an older gentleman I had
just met at a friend’s house. The host asked me to explain about my
trip…where I’d be going and what I’d be doing. This man interrupted me and
said, “You know young lady…this could really MESS you UP!”
I didn’t know how
to take that at first but the more I thought about it I realized that he was
right. And if God decides to ‘mess me up’, ‘turn my world upside down’, or
‘ruin me for normal’, I’m okay with that. Normal
is boring.
The stuff God asks
us to do is messy. Missions, although exciting and perhaps an ‘adventure’ at
times, is in fact getting down and dirty with the broken and hurting people of
this world. But that’s what God calls each one of us to do.
So when people ask,
“Why in the WORLD would you do this?” I can point them to Isaiah 58:6-9 where
God Himself says:
“This is the kind of fast day I’m after:
to break the chains of
injustice,
get rid of exploitation in the
workplace,
free the oppressed,
cancel debts.
What I’m interested in seeing you do is:
sharing your food with the
hungry,
inviting the homeless poor into
your homes,
putting clothes on the shivering
ill-clad,
being available to your own
families.
Do this and the lights will turn on,
and your lives will turn around
at once.
Your righteousness will pave your way.
The God of glory will secure
your passage.
Then when you pray, God will answer.
You’ll call out for help and
I’ll say, ‘Here I am.’ (MSG)
If we’re not doing
what Christ commanded us to do on a regular basis than maybe its time to mess
things up a bit!
