Thursday, August 23, 2012

What can we really do?

There are times when we are fortunate enough to be thumped right between our bug eyes. Sorry, that's a saying I held onto from my grandpa:)
There are times when God is gracious enough to burst the bubble that has been carefully constructed around me and open my eyes to the state of reality. I know many people who want to run and hide when faced with the realities of the world we live in, and if I were to be honest I would tell you that I have felt that same way more than once in my life. Many people curl up and think that it would simply be easier if Jesus came to grab us all right now, before things get worse. I suppose it would be easy to think that way. I mean, thinking that way allows me to let myself off the hook...

If I hold tight to the belief that God will simply see the world as too devastating and condemn it all (while I hold tight to my cushy salvation), then am I truly doing the work? Matthew 28 tells us, referring to the saved by the grace of Jesus blood, to go and tell the nations. Now, my heart tells me that if God has chosen NOT to send His Son and take up the sheep, and I still draw breath, then I have a job to do. My job is twofold: To go. And to tell. There is no grey area here.

So I now toe the edge of the commission I have been called to fulfill. In January 2013 I will join a group of ladies for a trip to Moldova. We will be ministering to young girls who have been forced into sex slavery via the trafficking industry. Make no mistake, the trafficking industry is a multi-billion dollar industry that many people just turn a blind eye towards. Is it because we don't care? I think it is because we think we are too small to make a difference.

If you look at the stories in the Bible that drove GREAT change, they were done by little people! Goliath was huge, but he was not God's hero. Little David was God's hero. God uses the big hearts, not the most accomplished people or largest arenas. Take a look at some of the plagues God used to free His people. 1 locust wouldn't cause much harm, but a swarm can take down a city. 1 frog is kind of cute, millions are a plague. If you had 1 termite in your home it wouldn't be a gig deal, but what if you had a whole tribe of termites working together for one cause? Do you get the picture I am drawing?

Sex trafficking is not the only thing our world must fight right now. The AIDS/HIV epidemic is reaching higher daily, as is domestic violence. In countries such as Moldova, Russia and Africa, these epidemics stem from extreme poverty. Young girls are tricked into slavery from want for a little food in their bellies while many of us beg for the perfect diet plan or pill to make us skinny. There are reported to be 210 million orphans living throughout the world as of today AND 2.18 BILLION people claiming to be Christians. I know some people see where I am headed and shut down the computer and close their eyes tight, but the question isn't "what if you were to adopt?" or even "what if you went on a mission trip?" The question is "What if we stopped putting ourselves FIRST and opened our hearts to love like Jesus?"

Would that make a difference in the world? If we stood up for our beliefs instead of hiding behind them, would our world look different? If we opened our eyes instead of pulling the covers over our heads, would our world look different? If we trusted God for our safety instead of ourselves, would our world look different?

There are many ways to be actively involved in where God leads your heart, but we must first open the pages of His Word and find out where we are to go. You may never leave your hometown or know the process of adoption, but I promise you can still help. If we all do our part, big or small, what would that look like?

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