Emptying the Ocean with an Eyedropper

God has been stirring something in my heart.

I just finished listening to the book "Kisses From Katie" during my drive home for Christmas break. The author, Katie Davis, makes a comment that sometimes doing mission work resembles the task of "emptying the ocean with a eyedropper…and every time I get a cupful, it rains". It is hard not to become completely overwhelmed by the sheer number of how many people have not heard the Gospel. Difficult to swallow the unfathomable count of children who daily die of starvation. Nearly impossible not to close my eyes to the amount of orphans in the world.

However, I think there is something even more disturbing disturbing than these statistics. It is that we need statistics to push us into action in the first place.

Let me explain.

I have grown increasingly apathetic to individuals. Most of you have as well. When we think of ministry we judge effectiveness by the number of people being reached or the amount of people being fed. There is nothing inherently wrong in this; good stewardship does involve utilizing the resources God has given to the very best of our abilities. It's natural to want to reach the most with what we have. The problem is when we start seeing the world as composed of statistics instead of individuals.

We have been raised in a generation where we are taught that everyone can make a big difference. One person can have a domino effect and change the world for thousands of others. This is true. In fact, this logic is Biblical and many times God used one person like David, Samuel or Mary to be the redemptive change in their generations.

But there is a danger I see in this, a trap we can easily fall into where we become so caught up in effecting the large numbers of people, of seeing ministry on a large scale, that we lose sight of people themselves. All of the sudden, if we won't get a "significant" result from our efforts, why even bother? If we won't make a big difference then what's the point?

But who are we to determine the worth of our time and resources? What if we have it all backwards and our time and resources aren't worth as much as we think? What if the reality is that if we spent everything we had emotionally, spiritually and physically and just one person was reached, it would all be worth it.

Even the Son of God knew He would not heal every sick person, restore every blind eye, feed every hungry belly, raise up every dead person or touch every bleeding woman. Jesus' world was not made of of statistics. No one was a waste of His time or resources even though this meant that some did not get healed, touched or fed.

Perhaps sometimes we look so far ahead to the big picture that we miss the faces that are in such close proximity to ours.

It's God's job to change to the world. Not ours.

At work I look down at the little girl clinging to my leg. I pick her up. Today is her day.

I drive by Walmart after school and see a homeless woman by the side of the road holding up a cardboard sign. I pull over. Today is her day.

I am washing dishes at the bathroom sink in my dorm when another college student walks by with evidence of tears on her cheeks. I dry my hands. Today is her day.

I apply for an internship in Ghana, praying in advance for the children I will be working with. This summer is their summer.

And someday, I will be walking along the streets of Africa daily and will bend down to kiss a chocolate-colored face. That day will be her day.

"Working with the least of these is not a suggestion. It is a requirement." ~ Katie Davis

And through these days, these moments we empty the ocean, one drop at a time.

Proverbs 14:18

"But the path of the righteous is like the light of dawn, 

that shines brighter and brighter until the full day…"

Feeding Sheep

"And the church's purpose is experience the presence of God..."

And the precious name of Jesus only said twice.

But deeds are spoken of.

The wonders of "the Holy Spirit" are recalled. 

The bravery of Paul the apostle is taught.

And the holy name of Jesus is only said twice.

But we pray at the beginning of church service and to close.

The worship songs proclaim we live our lives for our God.

The pastor picks up the bread and lifts it toward heaven, "We take communion in remembrance". He pulls the bread apart, small crumbs trickle down his sleeve. 

I feel the church's pulse - remembrance of what? They ask with their eyes.

What indeed...

"...And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard?..." ~Romans 10:14

We softly brush past other members in the pews to slide into the forming line. Some greet with smiles, some keep their eyes fixed on the bread and grape juice. We reach the elders. 

"This is Jesus' body; it was broken for you. This Jesus' blood; it was spilled for you."

I meet the eyes of an elder, does he know of whom he speaks? 

I sit down, dipped bread in hand. Sinking into the velvet cushion of the pew, I watch the procession going through the motions of communion. Yes, there are some. Some who remember their wedding vows and savor the flavors paid for by a bloody cross. And there are others. Others who look as if they are partaking of a mid-day snack. 

And who can blame them? How are they supposed to know there is any significance to the food placed in their hands? How dare we ask them to take communion and leave out the story of Jesus' sacrifice! How dare we invite them to church without telling them of Jesus. The reason the church exists is not to hand someone a soggy piece of bread dunked in grape juice once a week. The reason the church exists is not to fill up the pews with people who are patient enough to sit through an hour and fifteen minutes of stories of people who were the result of God's grace. What is being preached is completely worthless if these people don't know why any of this matters. How dare we charge people to live lives for God's glory and to do incredible things for Him without equipping them with Jesus! The church exists first and foremost to bring glory to God and secondly to glorify God by bringing people to Him. The church cannot fulfill the very reason it was established if it is not founded by those who know and love Jesus. We cannot give what we don't have. 

Who are we to think we have anything these people need! The only thing needed these people need is Jesus - why are they here? What draws them to this church? What probes them to come, worship, sit and listen? Jesus! We are not giving them the one thing they need. If we cannot provide this one thing for them we are purposeless. There is not one reason for our existence if we cannot provide Jesus.

"When Jesus went ashore, He saw a large crowd, and He felt compassion for them because they were like sheep without a shepherd; and He began to teach them many things. When it was already quite late, His disciples came to Him and said, "This place is desolate and it is already quite late; send them away so that they may go into surrounding countryside and villages and buy themselves something to eat". But He answered them, "You give them something to eat!" ~ Mark 6:34-37

A shepherd's job is to feed the sheep. The people are hungry. Give them something to eat.

Standing as Mount Zion

"Well, that's the last of it..."

I walked back into the little classroom. A once noisy room filled with nap charts, worksheets dripping with wet paint and to-do lists was now clean and quiet. The past few days had been a juggling act between cleaning up classrooms, giving small children goodbye hugs while packing for college and saying goodbyes to my slightly older friends. 

I couldn't help but allow a few memories flood into my head... High-pitched voices yelling "MISS ASHLEEEE!!!!!" as small bodies tackled me every morning when I walked into the classroom. I couldn't help but feel a little sad as I thought of certain kids who came from situations I had no control over, but wish I could change. My eyes mist a little for a young girl who sat in my lap almost as much as our time-out chair. My eyes quickly dried as I recalled the many reason why she was in time-out in the first place. Despite all the challenges that came with assistant teaching, I knew that I would miss the little people I had invested 45 hours of my life into every week this summer. Things are going so well, why do they have to change? Couldn't I obey God just as well staying in Ohio as going to school in Missouri? Are these changes necessary?

Change is necessary because it is obedience. God doesn't give me new because He wants to shake my foundation, He gives me new because He wants to remind me that He is my foundation.

The Apostle Paul understood changing circumstances. From shipwrecks to prison, a host of unfortunate events seemed to constantly be oppressing him and changing his situations. Yet he had the privilege of a living faith and experiencing God deeply every moment. His advice? To "count all things to be loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them but rubbish so that I amy gain Christ" (Philippians 3:7-8).

To count it all as loss is to praise every single circumstance because it leads me closer to God. The friends I leave, though I love them, are nothing in comparison to knowing Christ more deeply. My family, the closest and most precious to my heart, do not have the highest priority; Jesus does. I now welcome the new because it is the result of obedience.

My life will always be changing, but God never will. If I am firmly rooted in Jesus, then I cannot be swayed by circumstances.

 "Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever." 

~ Hebrews 13:8 ~

"Those who trust in the LORD are as Mount Zion, which cannot be moved but abides forever. As the mountains surround Jerusalem, so the LORD surrounds His people from this time forth and forever." 

~Psalm 125:1-2~

We are HIS PEOPLE! We cannot be moved but stand as firm as Mount Zion.

"Don't dig up in doubt, what you've planted in faith" ~ Elizabeth Elliot

"Your throne, O God, is forever and ever, and the righteous scepter is the scepter of His Kingdom...You, LORD in the beginning laid the foundation of the earth, and the heavens are the works of Your hands; they will perish, but You remain; and they all will become old like a garment, and like a mantle You will roll them up; like a garment they will also be changed. But you are the same, and Your years will not come to an end" ~ Hebrews 1:8, 10-12

Thirsty

The very heavens declare the power of our God and all the earth sings praises to the heart of our Creator. From the peaks of the mountains to the depths of the sea, the work of the Potter's hand shouts, Lord, be glorified!

If the very rocks can cry out for Jesus (Luke 19:40), how much more shall we, those the Father chooses to live through, be crying out for Him?

In such a dusty world we live in, God longs to pour His living water into our dry mouths and down our parched throats. 
He is standing to the side, glass pitcher in hand. 
He watches us. 
Droplets of water accumulate on the bottom of the pitcher. 
He longs to be invited. 
He will come as soon as He is approached with an undivided heart. 

And He waits. 

But many times I don't pay attention to the pierced hands patiently holding the dripping pitcher. I try to praise Jesus through cracked lips, bleeding from thirst. My voice falters, as I gasp for something to sustain me. Jesus looks at me as I feebly praise Him. His heart beats a cry that seeps deep into the soul; child, I want you to have so much more than this! He knows we are thirsty. He knows our thirst can be quenched because that is the core of who He is - He is life. He is the unquenchable life filled with so much power it never grows weary with time but only grows more sweet. He has so much power we can't even comprehend the limitless things He can do in our lives. And not only is He able to give to us but He wants to give beyond our expectations. He wants us to be "filled up to all the fullness of God'' (Ephesians 3:19) - that is the kind of love our God has for us.

Jesus is used to thirsty people. He told one of them, “If you knew the gift of God, and who it is who says to you, ‘Give Me a drink,’ you would have asked Him, and He would have given you living water” (John 4:10).  The word "living" Jesus uses to describe water means many things. in the Greek it is to have true life, to be actively blessed and endless in the kingdom of God, to have vital power, to be in full vigor, fresh, strong efficient and active. 

And all this is ours for the mere asking of it?

If we knew what could be ours, would we ask? 

If we knew what our God is capable of, would we ask?

He is a God "who is able to do far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or think"...  ~Ephesians 3:20

I was reminded this past week that God is not One hindered by human limitations. He is one who is always at work; we cannot trust our tunnel vision to consistently see what our God is doing, but we can trust His word to know He is.  He is One who works in ways our minds cannot comprehend. He works because He loves us. More than that, He works for His glory to be revealed. And He is glorified when His will is accomplished in our lives. 

Come, my friend. Let us drink of this Living Water...that we may never thirst again...that His will may be done in our lives...that the Father may be glorified. 

"to Him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations forever and ever. Amen" ~ Ephesians 3:21

"He will be like a tree firmly planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in its season and its leaf does not wither; and in whatever he does, he prospers" ~ Psalm 1:3

"If a soul has any beauty, it is because Christ has endowed that soul with His own. For in ourselves we are deformed and defiled! There is no beauty in any of us but what our Lord has worked in us." ~ Charles Spurgeon