He Said It With Devotion

This was a devotion I lead on the trip...

So what is next? What happens when we leave here. In a few short hours this place will become just a memory. It will live on only in photographs and stories. But it can be so much more. Perhaps this week God has taught you something about yourself. Maybe you learned more about service, love, patience or sacrifice. Perhaps you learned more about others and how to relate to them. Maybe even God has spoken to you for the first time that you actually took the time to listen. If any of these are true, great. Write it down, tell a friend or family member, impress it on your heart and brain to keep it with you.

Some of you this might be the first time you have served at a place like this. You came and shared your love and time with kids you never met, and tomorrow brings a bit of sadness as you think of leaving. But what about when you return to Korea? Jesus said, "If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that? And if you greet only your brothers, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that?"

Sure it was easy to love those kids, but what about others in your dorm, your roommate, your classmates, your family, or teachers? Will you spend the time and energy on those people like you spent on kids who you still can't fully pronounce their names?

In Galatians, Paul challenges us to "not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up." Let's not let our "doing good" end here tomorrow. I want to challenge you (and me) to take back this attitude of giving up our selfish ways back to school. Think of ways you can continue to do good in the dorm, home, class and community. What good is it to go halfway around the world to serve, if we can't serve where we live the rest of the year?

And as you return, and as this time becomes a memory, I challenge you to pray for those kids. When you look at the photos, when you tell the stories, when you think about this time - pray for these kids. Pray that God would continue to use this place and the staff here for his glory in the kids lives.

As James says, "Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world."

Song to go with this post: Charlie Peacock - Monkeys at the Zoo