"Missionaries"

Like most people probably did, I grew up with a picture of what a missionary is supposed to be. A missionary is some super-human person who loves Jesus just a little too much. We would always do the Lottie Moon Missionary offering at church and put our change in our little coconuts that we would leave at the altar. To me, a missionary was someone "out there." A missionary was almost like a mythical creature to me. I don't think I ever personally knew one growing up. I think I even had this picture of a missionary as someone just a bit too radical and extreme to be in a "real" church.

Last night, I had the extreme honor and privilege to have fellowship with two missionary couples. One are from Kenya and the other from Thailand. The differences in these two couples are unbelievable, yet their similarities are amazing. One has been given the gift of preaching and teaching. He can speak to a group of 20 or a stadium of tens of thousands (and he has!). The other readily admits he can't quote scripture, he is not an eloquent speaker, but he can hold, and touch, and love those that nobody else has ever held, touched or loved before. One has attended bible college, one has attended the school of life and every hard "knock" you could imagine. Yet, both sold or gave away every earthly possession they had to travel to the other side of the world to share the love of Christ. Both heard God's voice and LISTENED.

I read the following in a book this morning: "You guys are all into that born again thing, which is great. We do need to be born again, since Jesus said that to a guy named Nicodemus. But if you tell me I have to be born again to enter the kingdom of God, I can tell you that you have to sell everything you have and give it to the poor, because Jesus said that to a guy too.....But I guess that's why God invented highlighters, so we can highlight the parts we like and ignore the rest."

See, missionaries aren't some strange, mythical group of people. Missionaries are simply TRUE Christ followers. They have read the gospel and seen it for what it truly is. They haven't picked out all the happy, feel good parts of the Bible and left the rest on the cutting room floor. I am so extremely honored to call these people not just friends, but my brothers and sisters. I'm thankful for the opportunity to spend time with them and learn more about how to take those steps of faith.

I love how just when I think I have this whole God thing figure out, he sends people into my life to totally rock my world. I am constantly reminded of how HUGE God is and how there is no way I could ever even BEGIN to comprehend Him! I pray that when I sing "my whole life is yours, I give it all surrendered to your name" that I will truly mean it. I pray for the strength to do all He has laid out for me. Arms open wide to you Lord and all that you want.....just as these amazing couples before me have done.