I am on the World Changers mission trip with our students this week. We are in my neck of the woods; New Orleans. So far, it has been a fantastic trip. I have been consistently encouraged and reminded of how awesome our student pastor is, how amazing our leaders are, and how fun and awesome our students are here at FBCW!
I have also been encouraged and reminded of a few other things concerning being on mission, “Going and Telling”, and the work of the Great Commission.
1. IT IS HARD WORK
This week, we have been tearing down and rebuilding fences, building handicap ramps, renovating walkways, painting houses, and performing heavy landscaping all while in the humidity and unbelievably hot sun of the Louisiana sky. The days can feel long, weary, and just plain exhausting. Being a “Go and Tell” follower of Christ is not easy. It requires time. It requires resources. It requires investment. It will cost you sweat. It will cost you worldly pleasure. The mission will send you into places you never thought you would go. This is not the call for the lazy or the weak. Thankfully God has given us His Spirit, power, and promises.
2. PEOPLE MATTER TO GOD
God loves people so much that He sent His only Son to take our punishment on the cross. This week, while we work on fences, handicap ramps, and painting houses, we are not oblivious to the people that are all around us. We are doing this physical labor not because we are experts, but because we want to love people in tangible ways and love them enough to share the greatest news of Jesus with them. We love because God first loved us. (1 John 4:19).
3. IT IS WORTH IT
We will never be more like Jesus than when we are serving. Jesus was most certainly a servant king. It is easy to get caught in the trap of believing that your Christian journey is only to be walked out in the walls of the church building…this is a lie of the enemy. We are to “go”. We are to serve. We are to sweat. We are to give. We are to share, tell, proclaim, and make a big deal of Jesus with our hands, hearts, and mouths. It is hard, but it is eternally worth it.