A Sacrifice?

As we are nearing the end of our first year here in Asia, I am continually amazed at all that has happened in such a short amount of time. They say the older you get, the faster time flies, and I think that is true. Every year goes by a little faster than the last. We are excited to return to America, visit friends and family, and spend a little time in the familiar. But, I can say with full conviction that not even a part of us wants to return to America and stay. Despite the difficulties that accompany living in a different culture, communicating in a different language, being far from loved ones, and doing without some of the conveniences we are used to, we are in love with the adventure He has called us to. We wouldn't trade this past year for anything. We have witnessed Him do amazing things and each day we fall a little more in love with Him. He has proven again and again that He is worthy of our praise and our trust.

I came across this quote from David Livingston and it captures what I truly hold in my heart to be true, "For my own part, I have never ceased to rejoice that God has appointed me to such an office. People talk of the sacrifice I have made in spending so much of my life in Africa. . . . Is that a sacrifice which brings its own blest reward in healthful activity, the consciousness of doing good, peace of mind, and a bright hope of a glorious destiny hereafter? Away with the word in such a view, and with such a thought! It is emphatically no sacrifice. Say rather it is a privilege. Anxiety, sickness, suffering, or danger, now and then, with a foregoing of the common conveniences and charities of this life, may make us pause, and cause the spirit to waver, and the soul to sink; but let this only be for a moment. All these are nothing when compared with the glory which shall be revealed in and for us. I never made a sacrifice."

Sometimes people talk about our sacrifice, but in reality, that couldn't be farther from the truth. This is our privilege. We are on the adventure of a lifetime, watching the King of Kings change lives all around us and change our own hearts in the process.

II Corinthians 4:17 "For this slight momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen, but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal."

Comments

  1. MissyMay 31, 2010 at 8:43 AM

    I am so encouraged by your faith. I can only imagine what a blessing you are to Asia! I am sure that the people you come into contact with there see that you view knowing them and serving them as a privilege, and that can move mountains. Glory to God!!

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