A Good Word for 2023

At the end of every year I ask God for a word which will carry his message to me through the coming year.  Often it is is beautiful, descriptive word.  This year He has somewhat surprised me (though looking back on my writings I don't know why I'm surprised) with a short yet very sweet word, "Yes." 

"Yes" to Him and all He sends my way in 2023.  "Yes" to being fully present to the people He sends into my life in the coming year.  "Yes" to surrendering all that I am, each and every day, to His presence and His purpose.

While all of this sounds very "holy," in reality it is terrifying if I let myself think about it.  I often joke that if God had told me in 2010 what I would be doing in 2022, I would have told him, "No thank you. Send someone else." My joking, however, often reveals my fears and insecurities.  Sadly, I'm afraid, even as I joke  about this, in my heart I have to acknowledge the kernel of truth hidden here.  

This life God has chosen for me is more challenging than I would have chosen for myself.  There are great joys in what He has called me to do, but there are things that are difficult as well. 

Living far from family is one of the most difficult, as I watch my grandchildren grow and see my children's lives moving on without me.  Don't get me wrong.  They welcome me into their lives when I am there, but it is hard when I'm not to keep up on what is going on.  It is even harder to support them as I would like.  It seems, rather than getting easier as time goes on, it is harder as I realize what I am missing.

If I'm honest, I have to admit I find running a ministry, doing all the administrative stuff, difficult and somewhat uninteresting.  I have the heart of a teacher, of a discipler, and often am at a loss as to how to lead well those who God has entrusted to me, both residents and staff.  Managing finances and fund raising are well outside the scope of my natural abilities, and present daily challenges as I try to find better ways to manage the resources God has given us, particularly in the context of an  ever increasing cost of living.

It is in these challenges, in these areas where my natural abilities do not suffice, that I find God the most.  He has put together an amazing team to back me up, both in our Board in the US and the staff we employ here in Guatemala.  He has brought residents to us who have become my second family.  Finally, I have friends and supporters in two countries who encourage me and hold me up in prayer.  None of these things I could do on my own.  I know He is faithful.

So I say "Yes" to all God offers me and requires of me in 2023.  Will you join me?

Joseph and the Gift of Holy Confusion

We often talk about Mary's "Yes" to God, but Joseph's "Yes" was just as critical to God's redemptive plan.  Scripture tells us very little about Joseph, except that he was a just man, faithful to the law of God.

Imagine, then, his confusion at finding Mary to be with child.  He was betrothed to her, which in Biblical times was as binding as marriage.  According to the law, he must divorce her, or he would be seen an breaking the law by having relations with her during the period of engagement.  How could this have happened?  How could she betray him as he worked to prepare a home for them?

But he was kind as well as just.  He did not want to publicly humiliate Mary, though by the law she deserved it.  He did not want to be cruel, but he must obey the law.  He decided to divorce her privately, though this would leave Mary and her child to live the lives of outcasts to their society.  After struggling with what to do, he finally reaches a decision and falls into what I imagine was a fitful sleep.

Then an angel comes to Joseph in a dream, not when he was awake and struggling, but after he had reached his decision.  The angel comes to reassure him that Mary had not strayed and that she would bear the Son of God.  He is told he must marry her, though that would make him appear to have sinned also.  

The brief account of this in Scripture makes it seem so neat and easy.  But the reprecussions were immense.   He would bear the shame of this child with her.  Wouldn't it be easier to just dismiss the dream as nothing more than his unconscious imagination. Then he could go ahead with his kind, yet just plan.  After all, it was only a dream.

But Joseph recognized the voice of God in this dream.  He says "Yes" in obedience though it would cost him his reputation. He said "Yes" to loving as a father a child that was not of his flesh. He says "Yes" to trusting God and Mary that this is God's Son. Later, he would say "Yes to becoming a refugee, fleeing from Herod with the baby and Mary, once again directed not consciously but in a dream.  And he says "Yes" to the fearful, seemingly impossible task of raising the Messiah, his God and King. 

How he must have struggled.  The life he planned had been turned completely upside down.  How he must have been terrified by the implications of his obedience. Yet he says "Yes" and follows through in obedience.  

How very different the life of Jesus would have been without the "Yes" of Joseph. This almost forgotten "Yes" had great impact on the future of the Messiah.  Joseph says "Yes" and then disappears.  

Be it done unto me according to Thy Will

 As Christmas approaches I have been thinking a lot about the miracle of Incarnation--God taking on flesh to become fully man.  Taking on flesh in the way we all do, through conception, implanted in the womb of a teenage girl in Israel by the power of the Holy Spirit.

Think of it:    God shrinking down into the size of a zygote, growing hands and feet, arms an legs.  Trusting himself, in human form, completely into the care of a young virgin.  Dependent on this woman for his very survival, counting on this woman to take the first step in reconciling the world to Himself.

As Eve said "no" to God and "yes" to her own plan, Mary comes to say "yes" to God and surrender herself to His plan. 

I believe it is not a stretch to say I am a Christ-follower because of the wholehearted "yes" of a woman.  Yes to God, to an uncertain call, to an impossibility.  Yes to surrendering reputation, risking rejection, even death.  Yes to a life without guarantees.  What a brave and bold young woman.

As Jesus surrendered himself to death on a cross, Mary surrendered herself to giving life to Jesus.  

Lord, use Mary's example to teach me to say a wholehearted yes to You call.

No more half-hearted "yeses!"

 

Twelve years working in Guatemala and leading a ministry has taught  me many things, by the grace of God.  He has used His Word, experiences and His people to reveal the darkness still hiding in me.

That may sound strange coming from someone many call a "missionary," but shouldn't be surprising considering that all sin and fall short of God's glory.  And our failures (falling shorts) usually are founded in our lack of obedience--our failure to say "yes" and carry through with what we say yes to.

Sometimes I just "forget" what I have commited to due to busyness and inattention.  More often though, I only partially commit to what I am asked to do, or need to "think about it" more and delay my obedience.

Giving a whole-hearted yes to Him when I realize I am stalling is the only way to really obey.  He showed me this one Sunday when I was attending a house church and had been profoundly touched by the sharing and encouragement of its members.  At the end of our time together, the leader asked, "What will your 'yes' be to God this week?"

In that moment I was convicted of how I was presently saying "yes" to a leading of the Holy Spirit, yet postponing doing anything to carry out what He had prompted me to do.  In that moment He revealed to me my tendency to giving Him a "half-hearted" yes, which didn't require anything from me but made me "feel" like I was being obedient.

In this case,  as a ministry we were being led to purchase a permanent home for our women.  I had already gone through the total dependence in faith required to purchase the men's home, and honestly, never wanted to have to do that again.  So, in fear and fatigue I was dragging my feet.  In my heart I was thinking (unconsciously), "Can't you just be satisfied with what we have already done?"  Nick's question immediately brought this darkness in me to light and demanded my repentance.  And, as I am obedient, I continue to be astonished at His provision and strength as we pursue this.

The home is not paid off yet, but I trust that it will be by January 2024 when the contract expires.  We are doing things to help make this happen (that's another blog) but recognizing that what we do is futile if God is not at the center of it.  So I try to listen, discern, confirm and act as He reveals.

This is not the first time I have given God a half-hearted yes.  Looking back at my life, I see a pattern of holding back on Him.  I pray this will be the last time I pretend to obey and fail to follow through.  No more half-hearted "yeses" from me!

Am I a SJW?

Our ministry works to bring about respect, dignity, equality and justice for those who the world ignores or rejects, especially the disabled and elderly.  There have been times when I've been labeled as more of a Social Justice Warrior than a missionary, because our focus is on sharing the Good News of Jesus through our actions--to build a relationship with people before asking them to begin a relationship with our Jesus.  I have many reasons for this, which I believe are Biblically sound, but that's another post.

Living outside of the US, I have to admit I was unfamiliar with the term, and even had to look it up.  Wester's Dictionary defines a Social Justice Warrior (or SJW) as:  

Social justice warrior and SJW are typically used with sardonic [mocking, cynical] application, referring to a person who is seen as overly enthusiastic about issues of fairness in the treatment of matters of race, gender, or identity.

Though I am passionately concerned about economic equity and the dignity of all people, especially those with disabilities, my primary goal is to enable all people to know who Jesus truly is (not just as a religious icon), I don't think this term quite fits.  

While I am not involved in the struggle for the just treatment of the three groups named above, I see the just treatment of all people as a Biblical requirement not a social construct or a political position.  If I say each man is made in the Imago Dei, or the image of God, and I believe Jesus when He says, "Whenever you failed to do one of these things to someone who was being overlooked or ignored, that was me—you failed to do it to me." (Matt. 25:49.MSG) I am afraid to do otherwise.

Today I came across a devotion from the writings of Henri Nouwen which explains my heart better than I could:

It [Christian social action] is not an anxious human effort to create a better world. It is a confident expression of the truth that in Christ, death, evil, and destruction have been overcome. It is not a fearful attempt to restore a broken order. It is a joyful assertion that in Christ all order has already been restored. . . those acting within the house of God point through their action to the healing, restoring, redeeming, and re-creating presence of God.

I believe the view expressed by Henri is the basis of all Christian social action and the impetus for the human service activities of our ministry. It may lead us into the social and political sector, redeeming these under then authority of Jesus.  It takes us outside the walls of the conventional church,  In fact, sometimes it is the conventional church structure we must confront.

Has your disability or a family members disability

prevented you from attending church?

Wherever it takes us, it is our sincere attempt to make the Kingdom of God present and visible to all people.  May we be found faithful.     

An afterthought:

Why to those of us who claim to follow Christ feel the need to diminish the work of others who have a different approach to advancing the Kingdom of God? Have we forgotten that the same Spirit gives differing gifts according to our particular call?  We can do better.