A New Kind of Beautiful

Yesterday should have just been like any other Tuesday, but for some reason it was not. I had lunch with one of my dear friends Lindsey around noon and before I knew it we were locked in a conversation about life. We kept asking the question, "what are we doing?" I found myself asking that question in terms of my own life, the church, and our country as a whole.

I had just told Lindsey about some of the sermons I had listened to the day before from the Pastor's Conference which was part of the SBC Annual Meeting. One of the messages that continued to catch my attention was the last one of the night. David Platt spoke with such conviction and passion. One of his statements was in regards to giving. Most SBC members give 2.5% of their income and then the church gives roughly the same amount to foreign missions. If you do the math, it's not good. Roughly 6 cents of every $100 is sent to foreign missions. We continue to say that we are all about sharing the Gospel and furthering the Kingdom, but are our actions really backing that up? I'm the first one to admit that I am pointing the finger at myself in this problem. Once again, Lindsey and I asked "what are we doing?"

The rest of the afternoon these questions kept creeping in my head and I began to think about what I've done to further the Gospel. I thought about our churches and what we do. I thought about all of the programs we do and all of money we spend on those things. I thought about women's ministry, student ministry, children's ministry, etc. I found myself being really confused. I know without a doubt that the Lord has called me to full-time ministry. I believe at this point that I love working with women and girls. However, I do not want to be someone who is so consumed with what we do in ministry that I fail to live out the Gospel. Jesus taught a radical message and I think at some level we've missed it.

Today, I woke up with these questions and thoughts still on my mind. However, this morning the images were a little different. A few years ago, I went to Nicaragua and was able to be around some of the most precious children I've ever met. They were so eager to get to know us and spend time with us. If we were building something, they would ask for a hammer so they could help. This morning, the beauty of their lives struck me in a way I had forgotten. I hope and pray that we would be changed by the Gospel of Christ and that His message would impact the way we think and the way in which we live.