There is a special sweetness about missionary life that comes from being forced to live completely and utterly dependent on God. In a familiar culture, a quick "fix", whether to meet a physical, emotional or spiritual need, is readily accessible. Independence is not only easy but accepted and encouraged. Not so when you are surrounded by unfamiliar faces and jarring cultural differences nearly every minute of the day. Dependence becomes ingrained into your soul when something as simple as talking becomes a chore and culture misunderstandings throw adventures around almost every curve. God is the only source of emotional fulfillment in a place where someone who speaks the same language is difficult to find, much less a kindred spirit. Though it is challenging at times, it is far more a blessing than a hardship. For it is so sweet to simply trust in Jesus and rely solely on Him for every need.
This kind of living is not just for missionaries. It is a choice - we can choose to live depend on Jesus, even in a place as independent as America. It takes more work and effort, yes - but the results taste just as sweet! We can choose to open our Bibles when we are tired or need a break instead of surfing the internet or watching TV. We can choose to pray before consulting our friends about a hurt or frustration we've experienced. We can choose to ask God for His will instead of using Human reasoning to decide something. We can choose to wake up in the morning and ask God for grace and guidance instead of rolling out of bed and following our own desires.
"Whom have I in heaven but You? And besides You, I desire nothing on earth.
My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever."
~ Psalm 73:25-26 ~
May God be our only portion. May our dependence on Jesus be so strong that we would be stripped of any independence until we truly are nothing without Him and desire nothing of this earth.
Let us echo John the Baptist's cry, "He [Jesus] must increase, but I must decrease"! ~ John 3:30
Independences looks appealing. But it directly collides with the Gospel truth of allowing Jesus Christ to live in us. He cannot act through us if we are constantly oppressing Him by taking the shortcut that gives us more control. How dare we cheapen the very Gospel we proclaim to be living!
"Abide in Me, and I in you", Jesus commands us, "As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself unless it abides in the vine, so neither can you unless you abide in Me. I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing". ~John 15:4-5
We were not created to have the ability to walk the Christian life on our own - it is only through complete dependence on God that we are empowered to live out the Gospel. Not one bit of self must smudge our King's holiness.
"The Christian life can be explained only in terms of Jesus Christ, and if your life can still be explained in terms of you - your personality, your willpower, your gift, your talent, your money, your courage, your scholarship, your dedication, your sacrifice, or your anything - then, although you may have the Christian life, you are not yet living it" ~ Ian Thomas
