Recipient of Grace

"He is no fool to give up what he cannot keep to gain that which he cannot lose." 

~Jim Elliot~

One of my personal favorite quotes and one of many missionaries' cry in the heart. We give up many things of great earthly value only because we have caught on to something greater, and definitely better. Here, we refer to it as the things which we cannot lose, but in Matthew 6:33 it's actually talking about the Kingdom of God and His righteousness. It is one of my favorite quotes because it captures the heart of following God- it speaks with conviction and certainty, and the guy who said this justified its content in the most epic way possible- he lost his life and he gained a legacy. With gusto I confidently declare that same quote over and over again, and my, it felt good. 

He (I) makes the sacrifices to follow God, he (I) is no fool, he (I) is gaining something due to his actions. The world talks about this as if Jim Elliot was the man- he did everything right! Until one day, I began to question: would his ministry and Elizabeth Elliot become as effective if he hadn't died. I even commented that Jim's death was about the best thing that could have happened to Elizabeth simply because both of them decided to serve the Lord with ultimate fervor and abandonment. Then I want to bring us to remembrance- God calls, God equips, God fulfills.
For whatever reasons that we have come here for, I want to point out the prestige of being able to be here, and to be a part of what He is doing in Tanjong Pinang. Basically, He doesn't need us here.  I think that is the posture to adopt in service, so that we do not become disillusioned, nor do we become disappointed, but to always maintain that sense of honor and gratitude simply by the recognition that we do not deserve, yet by His grace we came. I come thinking that I'm doing the people or even God a great service, but truly, many who have gone on missions always make this particular remark: I came to bless, but I've been blessed much more in return. I reiterate: this is a position of great privilege, and we are the recipients of divine grace. 
I end the sharing with this story that I read from Kyle Idleman's "Not a Fan". 

There was a father. One day he was trying to shift a heavy furniture across the carpet, and it took him a while to realize that the most effective way to accomplish that is to flip that piece of furniture over, and slide on its back across the room. He did that, but the task was still a big one. After a while, this struggling father caught the attention of his 4-years old son, who cutely ran up to him, squeezed himself in between his dad and the furniture and offered to help. He was making little contribution, and the furniture would not budge. But his father was behind him, and working together, the furniture moved. After a while, the son looked up at his father, and quickly remarked, "dad, you are in my way." 

Sometimes in our lives, we take up so much, and we slowly began to remove God from the picture, even as we claim to say that we are doing His works. Today, I encourage us to take heart- commit and surrender. Believe in the depth of our heart that He is the one pushing the heavy furniture over our shoulders, not by what we might think is our strength, not even by what we think is our resources, but by a simple faith and a simple desire to seek His kingdom. Let us receive grace, and in receiving grace let us serve with grace, and let us show grace. 

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