guest post by Cari Conklin / edited by Paula Hemphill God is ever faithful. In famine. In war. In disease. He never falters. Even when we do.
I've been mulling over this recently and it drew me to this beautiful passage of scripture: You yourselves are our letter, written on our hearts, known and read by everyone. You show that you are a letter from Christ, the result of our ministry, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tables of stone but on tablets of human hearts. Such confidence we have through Christ before God. Not that we are competent in ourselves, but our competence comes from God. He has made us competent as ministers of a new covenant – not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life. - 2 Corinthians 3:2-6 How beautiful is this gentle reminder that not only are we God’s love letter to the world but, just as the church of Corinth was the letter of recommendation for the work of the disciples, the children we champion and minister to are ours? And our work is empowered by the Spirit of the living God. The comparison between hard, unforgiving stone and the soft place at the center of life that sends the oxygen out to the body proposes to me the notion that we must take great care as we steward the stories of the children we serve. When I remember the children we serve, I remember my own heart. I think each of us is borne with desires deep within our souls. I know, I was. I want life. I want love. And likewise: I want to share life. I want to share love. And hope. Hope may just be the greatest of all the things we could possibly give or receive. Hope in hearts changes everything. I believe it to be true because that’s how God wired me. That's how God wired US. Because we are here. Together. In this journey of bringing hope to the nations. We have been called to carry out the simple message that every single human being was imprinted in God’s image. Not just with dignity deserving of love, but with the desire to share that out of the abundance of the love we have received through the Spirit of Christ. And that call? It isn't always easy... Many days, being a CA feels like being in the middle of a storm-- a tornado-- where we are tossed and turned by the winds of others' apathy. It is painful and can feel so lonely. But we are not alone. We are in God’s will-- living out His greatest command to love Him and then others as we do ourselves. And though the winds of apathy rage around us, we are in the safest place in the middle of a storm-- at the center of His heart. It doesn’t matter what debris is flying through the air as the tornado touches down because God has us safely under His arm, listening to His breath, and clinging to His Word-- where His Spirit gives life. Friends let's remember: we have what this world needs right now. We have the best mission with the best and biggest love the world could ever imagine. The kind that renews and restores us to do more every day, even when it rips our heart out. God has written a love story to the world on the tablets of our hearts. Let's go and share it together. |
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