Tuesday, July 3, 2012

Live & Die

This past weekend I was able to spend time with the leader and family of Love-N-Care Ministries.

Love-N-Care is reaching the people of India (as well as Germany and now stretching in South Africa) with the gospel of Jesus Christ while making disciples and calling others to make disciples. It was kind of intoxicating for me to be around them.

To dream.

About Wichita, about the world, about it all, about mission.

It’s a cliché word now-a-days, ‘mission.’ (I wrote a series of posts called ‘Rumored Thought’ about a pastor’s mission.) I hear it tossed around so carelessly, the meaning not really grasped.

Tombs.

He spoke of the tombs of missionaries in his country. Americans who had traveled to India to preach the gospel who never would return to America, they died there and were buried there. With tears in his eyes he said, “Thank you.”

My point is this: sooner or later we’re gonna die. Stop breathing and die. Get shot and die, car wreck, get old, bite the bullet, buy the farm, kick the can… Whatever, we’re going to die. And hopefully, by the sheer grace of God we’ll have lived for something worthwhile (the gospel).

Hopefully we haven’t spent our whole life on something pitiful. Even Aristotle got it, “The measure of good life is a life well lived.” Let’s just say this, a life well lived in the measure of eternity is the application and belief in the gospel.

Moms with their kids and dads with their wives and others whose call is to reach more than just a few folks: missionaries, pastors.

Some of us will be killed for the gospel. Others will die of old age having lived for the gospel. Both are the most admirable lives.

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