apathy | ‘ap?THe |
noun
lack of interest, enthusiasm, or concern: widespread apathy among students.
When I first came on the race, I expected to be in a state of constant ministry. I thought that I’d instantly become this super missionary that read her Bible for hours every day, went out of her way to serve everyone in sight, and basically beamed Jesus in such a way that people came flocking to Christ. In short, I expected to become a perfect Christian.
As you can imagine, that didn’t happen. Right now I’m beginning month six of my time overseas, and in all my life I’ve never been more aware of how imperfect I am. Sometimes I still struggle to get up early to read my Bible, sometimes I don’t want to go to ministry, and sometimes I even wonder why I’m here at all. Being thousands of miles away from home for half a year is hard friends. I’ve done and seen so many wonderful things, but there are few days where I don’t miss something from home.
Serving in Ethiopia is a lot like what I imagine serving at home will be like. In the morning I have a set ministry of distributing water to the local people (feel free to check out my blog about it), but I don’t have one in the afternoon. After lunch time I have to choose to hang out with the children or serve my squad. Honestly, there have been days where I didn’t choose to be Jesus and hid away. In those moments I told myself that I was too tired to serve or deserved an afternoon off, but the truth was that I was walking in apathy.
See back home I had set “ministries”- serving on short-term missions, going to church, helping my church do different events- and then I had opportunities. There were so many moments back home where I could have stepped out to be Jesus and chose not to- whether it was sharing the Gospel with whoever was nearby (family, friends, and strangers alike), serving my family through house chores, speaking out in love, or even taking the time to just know someone. I was so focused on my agenda, my life, my wants and needs, myself. When I put myself above everything else, then I found myself becoming apathetic to being Jesus. I would become uninterested, unexcited, and unconcerned with being Jesus. You can read and say everything as Jesus did, but it doesn’t matter if you don’t put it into practice.
Apathy is something I have to fight against every day, in every moment of everything I do. It is a disease that has infected me and much of the church. Jesus spent three years on missions, and in that time He changed the world. If a person came to Him and begged for help, then He’d help them. If Jesus knew someone was in need, then He’d help them. The life of Christ is marked by a constant concern, interest, and energy to save mankind. All Jesus did was purely for the sake of someone else, especially onto the cross. If we as believers are called to love as Jesus loved, then we have to get rid of apathy. We have to stop saying “I would but…” or “That’s not my problem because…”. We have to stop making excuses and we need to start doing what Jesus told us to do.
Friends, I come to you not as someone who has it all figured out, but as someone who understands. I’m overseas living at an orphanage surrounded by people who walk for miles to get jugs of water, and I’m still struggling with this. Apathy isn’t dependent on the world around you, but by your heart. No matter where you go or what you do, you have to choose between living for yourself or dying to yourself. People will know who follow Christ by the love they have for one another. If we can’t take the time to show the love of God to the world, then who are we really following?
I was brought overseas to serve, just as you are wherever you are to serve. I have people to love all around me, just as you have people to love around you. Romans 12: 2 says “Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is- His good, pleasing and perfect will.” The world is apathetic. It seeks self interest and is unconcerned with serving its fellow neighbor. Friends, this should not be the church. We are called to a higher standard and must act accordingly. Don’t wait for an opportunity to fall on your lap, but seek out every chance to share just a little more Jesus with the world. The world doesn’t need any more people seeking to be “perfect Christians”, just people seeking to be Jesus.
~CLS
