Where have you done the most good?
This question was posed to me a few weeks ago, and I struggled to answer. Which country have you done the most good in? It reminds me of similar questions: How many people have you saved? Where have you made the biggest impact for Christ?
It’s often hard to explain exactly what the Race is like. I don’t even think I fully understood it before I started. There is so much that goes on, and so many ways the Lord moves, that it is hard to give a simple answer to the question of “where have you done the most good?” What exactly do you mean by that?
First of all, it isn’t about me and what I’ve done, but rather who Jesus is and what he has done through me. Anyone can travel the world and feed the hungry, hold street children, and teach English. I didn’t have to come on the race to do that. I don’t even have to be following the Lord to do that. So what is this trip really about? Maybe I haven’t done a good job of communicating that.
This trip has a lot more to do with me than it does with the people I am serving. That may sound really selfish, but it’s the truth. I knew coming on the race that I would be serving people all over the world and bringing light to dark places, but I also knew that I would be challenged in my own walk with the Lord, I just didn’t know how much. I’ve gone to church my whole life, but I’ve been stuck in this weird place of always being worried about whether or not I truly know the Lord. Does the Holy Spirit really live in me? We kind of create this phenomena in the church where we feel like we have to keep responding to altar calls. “Maybe I didn’t do it right last time, I’ll try again.” “I want to recommit my life to the Lord.” We act like the first time wasn’t good enough. That’s a lie! The Lord took a whole month trying to tell me that. Check out my Zambia blog for that story. Once I accept the Lord, he is in me. Whether I choose to live like it is another issue entirely, but there is no reason for me to continue to question his very real presence inside of me. This is just a piece of what the Lord has affirmed in me and how he has grown me into who I am in Him.
Back to the question. My goal right now is to follow the Lord as much as I can. To spend as much time with him as I can, to learn as much as I can, and to live that in community with my team. Out of that comes the desire to serve his people where I am. My goal is not see how many houses I can build or how many people I can claim that I have saved for Christ. I am planting new seeds, and watering ones that were planted long before I came here. Maybe I get to harvest some, maybe I don’t. But I came to shed light and to love. To hold street children and show them what God’s love looks like. To comfort parents who feel like failures. To encourage teens who are the only Christians in their families. To dance and sing crazy songs with more African children than I can count, so that they might hear the word of God in a safe and positive place. To provide support to local missionaries who are wiped out and need a listening ear. These aren’t things you can quantify, but I know the Lord works through them all. Can I say which of these things was the most good?
I don’t know where I have done the most good or have had the most impact. But I know that the Lord has worked through me in every place we’ve been whether it felt like it or not. I know he is growing me in new areas and stretching places I didn’t think needed to be stretched.
Think about that this holiday season as you are giving. It’s not about how many people we fed or how many families we supported. It’s not about how great the family Christmas program is this year or how many people showed up. But did you get to show someone Jesus’ love? Did you spread light? Anyone can give – remember that you have something special to give, and that it is worth more than gifts under a tree.
