Being Moved

I was moved by the scene.

         

Forty plus people strung out across the stage of our worship center ready to be commissioned to be Jesus to an orphanage full of children in Honduras. As I looked at the group it reminded me of Lake Wobegon, where, according to Garrison Keillor, “All the women are strong, all the men are good looking and all the children are above average.”

         

But it wasn’t the Lake Wobegon factor that moved me.

         

I was moved by the fact that 40+ people would sacrifice a week of their summer to work in Honduras with children who had been abandoned by their parents.

         

I was moved knowing that the teenagers who were going had raised money to offset their expenses. They had solicited friends and family as financial supporters. They had auctioned themselves off to people to do “dirty jobs.” They had worked many hours at our annual “huge garage sale.”

         

I was moved by understanding that this trip was an expression of the love of Christ that they have come to know through their families, church and, for some, school.

         

I was moved by the fact that at this young age they want to share Christ’s love with people they do not know.

         

I was moved knowing that the people participating in this trip will come back changed. They will not be the same. They will see things, hear stories, live experiences, and share their lives in ways that will transform them. No one ever comes home from a mission trip without being changed by God in some way.

         

I was moved to be a part of a sending congregation. Our covenant theology is both vertical and horizontal. God has established a covenant relationship with us and has promised to be our partner in whatever life might bring. The body of Christ is in a covenant relationship with one another. No one lives life on their own. We are in this together. We are going with those who are going to Honduras even though we will remain here.

         

I was moved when we acknowledged that this trip was in obedience to God’s command to “...go into all the world and make disciples of all nations....”

         

I was moved that in God’s providence two young adults, who had been a part of the Honduras ministry since they were young, were able to be with us in worship and on the stage representing all the children who have been a part of this ministry past, present and future. They are living examples of God’s amazing power, grace and love!

         

I was moved as I was reminded that our young people, who come from middle and upper middle class American homes, will be “loving on” young children who have been abandoned by parents and families for a variety of reasons that are hard for us to understand. The Honduran children live in poverty and without many of the advantages our children take for granted. God will use our kids to change the lives of others. And our kid’s lives will be changed through these relationships. 

Has God moved you lately?

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