To the ends of the earth

For those of you that don't know us well, we have desired and prepared for several years now to go do work overseas. Many have asked if we are still thinking about going to North Africa to work at a physical therapy center for disabled children, or if adopting has stopped us from that pursuit. Adopting has not changed our desire to minister overseas at all. We feel like it has been a call on our lives for a long time and we do not believe that our call to adopt or raise a large family conflicts with our call to go to the ends of the earth. In fact, many more experienced Christian workers have greatly encouraged us and told us that having a large family can actually give us great credibility and respect in other nations.

Our desire stems from scripture and our love for Christ. We understand that we are only saved by God's grace. He sent His son Jesus to be the perfect sacrifice for our sins. Jesus paid the price that we should have paid and God provided Him as the perfect sacrifice to be a substituiton for us. We rejoice in that truth because we can live in the freedom of Christ, knowing that we are no longer in bondage to sin. We can never do enough good works to get to heaven or to deserve forgiveness. Even the very "best" humans and nicest people fall miles short from the holiness that God requires. Jesus was the only perfect one, and we can only enter the presence of the most holy God when we are covered with the righteousness of Jesus. How can we be covered with His righteousness? We must confess with our mouths and believe that Jesus died and was raised from the dead and accept him as Lord of our lives. When you realize that you are a sinner and can never be good enough, the forgiveness that you receive through Christ's ulitmate sacrifice becomes so amazing and precious. The joy is uncontainable and for that we give thanks!

Because of this joy and thankfulness, we do good works and we desire to obey God's word. But we do not do the good works and obey him out of obligation, fear or personal gain. The good works may look the same, but the difference is that a Christian's motivation is strikingly different from others' motivation. The Bible also speaks of this life being just a vapor. It also tells us that our work is to go and tell the good news of Jesus Christ to a lost and dying world. We feel like the more that we treasure our salvation and are in awe of it, the more we desire to go show love to and tell the good news to those who otherwise would live and die with never having a chance to hear. If our life is a vapor, then how can we cling to our worldly comforts of America and ignore God's call to go? Sure we/you can be a testimony here, but there are thousands of churches, thousands of Bibles, hundreds of radio broadcasts, and thousands of Christians here. What about the thousands of people groups that have no witness, no Bible, not even any scripture in their own language? God said His word would be preached to all of the nations and then the end will come. We say and we sing that we can't wait for Jesus' return, we even pray it in the Lord's prayer, "Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. " If we really want His kingdom to come, are we fullfilling His great commandment, His will, here on earth? Is our heart really like God's? His heart is for the people of all nations - IS YOURS? Lord make our hearts more like yours!