For the last four days, my team and I have been staying on a remote farm in northern Costa Rica. The house is nothing fancy, it's a mostly open structure, all covered by a huge tin roof. We all spend as much time as possible in our hammocks, strung up between support beams. That is, when we aren't out working in the fields. We do have clean running water, but showers aren't hot (which is generally appreciated after working hours in the hot Costa Rican sun!). I'm attempting to learn some Spanish, and apparently I can mimick the sounds well enough that Tony, our ministy host, thought I had studied at least a year of Spanish in school. With our remote location, it's difficult to blog. We don't have immediate access to internet. So, here are some thoughts I jotted down after our first full day of work…
"Good tired," the feeling you get after a long day's work. Whether that be a long day of school, meetings, manual labor, or what have you, the feeling is the same. That exhaustion that leads to instant relief the moment you sit down. That feeling is what Jordan and I discussed as we lay in our hammocks after hacking away with machetes for nearly 5 hours.
The whole team spent the morning working on clearing a road to a building site for a sanctuary our ministry hosts are preparing. I think we got to the road at about 7:30 AM, full of energy and ready to work. At about 9, someone asked what time it was. When we heard we'd only been working for barely two hours, the groans went up in unison. We were tired, hot, sweaty, and honestly a bit bored with the repetitive nature of the work…and we still had three more hours to go. We started strong, dwindled a bit in the middle, but I think we ended pretty strong, too. By the time lunch came around we were all bushed and ready for some good eats (Rosa is treating us to some amazing meals). It{s interesting how entitled we all felt when came time to eat. Sure, we'd been working hard, and maybe we worked as hard as we could, but it is remarkable how little work we did in comparison to someone who is used to working all day for their supper. We all have bruises and blisters and hot spots that will soon be good callouses if this type of work continues, but we also took a lot of breaks, sat down a fair amount, and commented on our level of discomfort (not complaining, but keeping each other mindful any time we were tempted to complain to say something we are thankful for instead). I can't help by feel we could have done more, worked more diligently. Yet at the time, I felt such a sense of entitlement. I worked hard, I'm tired, I deserve a hot meal and a rest. But really when in this life do we deserve anything? I think we as humans selfishly have this false sense that things are due to us after we do x, y, and z. How wrong we are.
Consider grace. If we could always earn things, there would be little to no need for grace. Especially God's grace. If we were entitled to our place in the Kingdom, the picture we have of God would be vastly different. Rather than seeing Him as a merciful Father, He would be more akin to a harsh auditor keeping measure of our every deed. In a world of strict entitlement, there is no place for grace or mercy, and thus no need for Christ. But when we switch our worldview to one where entitlement has no role, the value of God's grace as demonstrated to us through Christ becomes immeasurable. If we have no way to gain the Lord's favor, or a place with Him in eternity, what chance do we have but for His grace?
In remembering the lack of entitlement I am due in actuality, I look forward to the work ahead of me tomorrow. Not because I know a hot meal will always follow, but because I know each day is an opportunity to serve others, freed by the grace of God to serve humbly rather than work selfishly to earn stature or favor. So tomorrow as I see the tin roof of our new home rising above the crest of the hill, rather than congratulating myself and my team on our hard work, anticipating our meal, I will thank God for this chance to serve that He has blessed me with and humbly accept the meal and the time of rest that follows as someone else's act of service towards me.
