I’ve had quite a bit of time to process since my last trip to Haiti, and I have come to a conclusion.
The longer I lead missions, the harder it seems to get.
As you get older, have you sensed yourself getting a greater grasp on the reality of life around you? You may now understand how this person works, that process tends to unfold, and the true pain in the butt that some things truly are.
It seems that the more I lead missions, the more deeply ingrained I become in other cultures. As I develop relationships in these cultures, I am often invited into the daily lives of people, giving me an intimate view of reality that rarely presents itself to the general public or pretty little mission trip that comes from time to time. With this, I begin to see life at a whole new angle. I see more and more of the world’s screaming reality, and it’s no longer spiritual acts for pleasure, no longer just a pretty little mission trip anymore.
Have you noticed that when these pressing realities hit your heart that sometimes you jump back and throw your hands in the air thinking, “I don’t want anything to do with this”? It may be because you see someone knowingly taking advantage of another, someone with a bad attitude toward life, or maybe the situation just looks plain pathetic. There may even be cases where nothing is actually "wrong" with a situation – it's just not the way you want it. Hmm…
So what happens when our eyes are opened to these realities?
1) We embrace them with the heart of God, or 2) We get cynical.
So often, we find ourselves embracing the sickness that so entangles our American culture: cynicism.
So how do we avoid cynicism?
The more I thought, processed, and prayed through this question myself, the clearer the answer got.
NEWS FLASH: Life is not about you!
When a man is deeply rooted in the Word of God, he is continually being washed in grace, refined in truth, and exposed to the reality of God’s heart for His creation, becoming more and more like his Creator. After all, we do know that if we’re not connected to The Vine, we begin to die off.
Let’s face it, it’s easy to tell the difference between a man of God that is wearing his armor and one that isn’t.
Instead of stepping back and throwing our hands in the air, let’s step in as Jesus would, put hands to hearts, and embrace the people around us, giving freely exactly what it is that God wants for them. But wait! That takes listening. That takes obedience. That takes risk. Oh my! Those are difficult things, but well worth it!
There you have it – in order to avoid cynicism and become the tangible heart of God, we must stay grounded in God's word, continue to listen, obey, and take great risks.
I don’t know about you, but I’ll take life getting harder if that means His beautiful fruit is being produced.
What are you embracing today, the heart of God or cynicism?
