I am a nerd. I have said this many times, and my teammates are quickly learning this. Even as I write this post, I am wearing a comic book t-shirt with the symbol of the Blue Lantern Corp. on it. If you have no idea what I’m talking about, don’t worry about it. Contrary to what you might think, I have a point in telling you this. Yesterday, we had our first day of ministry.
Each team is doing different types of ministry. My friend Nick’s team is doing construction type things, while my friend Carly’s team is doing Sunday school ministry. My team is going to villages and praying for people in their homes, and giving sermons. Yesterday we started this by going to a small village. We walked around the village for perhaps an hour or so, just going into people’s homes and praying for them. It was a blessing for us to see these people where they are and be able to love on them.
As we went from house to house, we gathered some fans. It started out with just a few, but it ended up being a big following of children. The kids absolutely loved us. We would go into a house, pray, and then walk back out to a sea of children. We would walk down the street, and I would be holding the hands of three or four kids at once. There was so much Life in them.
This brings me back to my t-shirts. I know that you have no idea how I can go from ministry and kids to comic book related t-shirts, so let me explain. Every t-shirt I have represents something. My Batman shirt represents physical strength. My Green Lantern shirt means willpower, or spiritual strength. The shirt I wore yesterday, however, is special. It has the symbol for the White Lantern Corp. on it. This symbol means life.
Every morning, I look at my shirts, and wear one based on two factors. A: Does it stink to high Heaven? B: What is God reminding me of today? I look down a lot, mainly so I don’t trip over my own feet, and every time I see the symbol on my shirt, I am reminded of it’s meaning. Yesterday was the first day I had worn my Life shirt. I felt like I needed to wear it. I didn’t know why, but I did. Then, when we were on our way to ministry, I realized why.
As a Christian, I bring Life with me wherever I go. Going into the village, I had to bring life with me. We are in a land that is so devoid of Jesus that, in some places, you can feel the Godlessness. God has called us to be lights in the darkness, but even the brightest light needs to be cleaned every once in a while. My shirts may be trivial and silly, but they mean a lot. Every day, I am reminded to have hope, to be compassionate, to be strong, to bring life everywhere I go, and to proudly display it on my chest. For I am not ashamed of the Gospel! I promise to live every day wearing my emotions on my sleeve, and not being afraid to walk out in faith. I also promise to wash my clothes often.
