My dear friend Rebecca Friday has inspired me for years with her longtime
commitment to "visit and look after the fatherless," as James admonishes us
in James 1:27—in Rebecca's case referring to the orphans of Central
America. I have watched over the years as God has utilized Rebecca's
missionary work not only to improve the lives of orphans but also to sanctify
her. We who follow Jesus surrender ourselves to a process by which God
conforms us day by day, little by little, to the image of His Son. This is
called our sanctification. Difficult as that is, we steadily learn self-sacrifice
and develop the fruits of the Spirit—love, joy, peace, patience, kindness,
goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Rebecca presents a
beautiful example of a fruitful, sanctified servant of God.
Rebecca's preparations for her missions trips say so much about her
Christian walk. These times of preparation are not just about shopping and
packing. They are times of deep spiritual tempering, during which she puts
on the full armor of God and tunes her spiritual ears to hear the voice of her
Shepherd, without whom she cannot effectively serve. She can't imagine
going on these trips without God and His protection. Her missionary work
and her whole life thus reflect the blessing that comes from deep dependence
on God. You'll see what I mean when you read her stories.
God is a missionary God, and He sends people out on missions for His glory.
Friday calls herself "an unlikely missionary." Maybe everyone surrendered
to God's will in the furtherance of the Gospel of Jesus Christ has sometimes
felt "unlikely." I know I have. I am far too aware of my failings to consider
myself anything but unlikely. We all, saved by grace, are unlikely candidates
for contributing to His awesome drama of redemption. We must come away
from times of dedicated service to God with a keen awareness of our
powerlessness and God's limitless power. We're left marveling at Him. He
gets all the glory. We are weak so He can be strong.
Let my friend Rebecca and her God-honoring life inspire you to be bold in
bringing the love of God to your own mission field, whether you are called
to a faraway land or to those in your own household.
In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent
His Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so l...