I have read about the yearning in believers in the scriptures. I have read books by believers that have the same yearning. This little story is about the same thing, except that it is close to home.
We have wanted to touch people through contact and helps by letting the message of the gospel be heard but also seen. We have done food ministry, education helps, preached, taught, and worked. The Lord has helped us and the Spirit of God has guided us, but the yearning has only grown.
I have explained to friends more than once that we have been so blessed by His love and have been able to do a few things. But compared to the love we have received, we have done so little. Now, more than ever, it is nearly a lament: to want to do more but cannot seem to do it.Our projects are few; our web site is not used very much; our blogs or posts in places get some response, but not much. Compared to a fraction of the love of Christ that has been bestowed on us, our fruit is meager. What do we do?
We have a course to teach and show the created heavens and the God that made them, but few opportunities have appeared. We have telescope kits ready to train others to evangelize through exposure to the heavens, but few want to learn the disciplines and do it for someone else. We get requests for money once in awhile, but the requests usually have the same tenor. The senders talk about wanting us to partner with them, but they really just want money, which we generally do not have. Most of the requests show us they have not even bothered to read the web site content and know what we do.
We are beginning to share about being prepared for disaster. Actually, we have felt distinctly impressed to do it. Using a Biblical foundation, being a help to your neighbor in a time of need is an excellent way to show the good news as well as share it. But the question arises again: will it be fruitful? Can it touch people’s hearts with the good news? Can Jesus Christ be glorified in it?
So what do we do?
We are about to go to a camp and teach 30 children and a few staff about the created heavens but also introduce them to the wonder of our God and His good news. It is the next open door that we have to try to make a difference: to labor as best we can by faith in Him. Like our other projects, we aim to lay some seed or water some seed already planted, in hopes that one or a few children or staff might catch the same deep desire to receive Him afresh. Maybe some day it will go even deeper as they will want to show and demonstrate the love of Jesus Christ where ever He leads them. I wish we could show baskets of fruit from our efforts to do this, but the pickings have been meager. This is where the lament comes in. We ache to do more but it seems to escape us to make it happen. So we fall back (as we should) on Him.
If you are one of the people that follows our web site and you are a believer, would you pray that we mark our steps carefully: to go where He wants us and to do what He leads us? Surely, there is more seed to be sown or fruit to deliver. As we get older the lamentation seems more acute. We don’t need to be center stage or be seen, but we sure would like to be a part of Jesus’ rising in the hearts of others, so they can go and be fruitful. Perhaps they will go where we have never been or even imagine
