A New Perspective

I just arrived back home from Montevideo, Uruguay on the red eye this morning.  I had the privilege of spending a little over a week on the outskirts of Montevideo working with Sinai Church.  It was the most amazing week; full of revelation and the power of God.

We were dedicating the new church that had been built; it is a new mission they were starting.  Before you envision a regular American church, let me give you the correct picture. 

First off, it is winter down there.  It was in the low 60’s in the day and around freezing at night.  This mission that was built was much like their homes; it was made of block and had glass windows and metal doors.  There was no central heat and it didn’t even have a fireplace. 

The electrical was crudely run and lights hung by wires that were dangling over the metal beams about 8 feet from the rough concrete floor.  They did have one space heater in the back of the 70 x 25 foot room, but they didn’t care; they just bundled up and brought their Bibles.

They showed up for all three dedications and instead of grumbling that they had to give up that time to go to a church without heat, they praised God that they could walk down the street instead of walking about a mile to Church Sinai in the next neighborhood over.

The leadership of Church Sinai had no problems with walking that mile in the freezing weather to worship with their brothers and sisters in Christ!  The only vehicles that were driven were used to drive some of their guests (our team) back and forth.

I have never seen such love, such dedication, and such a desire for the Holy Spirit of God in my entire life.  I was one of the guests invited to preach and the whole time I thought, “I should be sitting at their feet, learning from them!”  But they needed to be trained and encouraged in certain areas, so I took what I knew from my training and experience and gave it to them.  It was the most humbling experience of my life.

I sit here in shock.  Embarrassed at how I have treated my walk with the Lord, ashamed by how little I have reached out to my neighbors, crestfallen about what I haven’t taught my own children spiritually, and distraught at how I handle the wealth God has entrusted to me, and repentant for it all.

I don’t feel guilty about what I have been given; however, I have been chastised by the Lord about how I use it.  The people of Church Sinai have nothing and they give everything.  They truly understand that all they have is from the Lord and they have no problem giving it away.  They know that God will meet their needs, and they don’t confuse their needs with their desires.

The problem with being wealthy (and we are all wealthy compared to the majority of the earth’s population) is that the more you have, the more you are afraid of losing it!

You don’t have to sell all you have and give it to the poor, but we all need to look around us and intentionally seek out those in need and do all we can to help meet them.  People’s needs come in many forms: physical, financial, emotional and spiritual. 

You don’t have to travel to another country to do mission work.  I would be willing to be you wouldn’t have to look very hard to find someone in need around you.  What good does it do to preach truth to them when they are in such dire need?  The book of James tells us that it is useless! 

Start looking for some needs in your neighborhood.  Get together with your family and discuss ways to meet those needs, and then go do it!  Don’t just let people hear about God; let them feel God’s love through your hands, and train your children in the process.

That’s what I am going to do.  I hope you will join me!

                                             

Johnny Walker is a Christian counselor and life coach, and is the founder of Family Works Counseling.