The other week week I was thrilled to find out that my classmate, friend, and sister in Christ Sarah McIntyre was interviewed and accepted for the Biology program of Kalu Yala, and will be spending the summer with me! This is certainly good news for the Good News as we travel to Panama looking to work with christians and spread word to those who are not. For those of you who haven't met Sarah, she is one of the most enthusiastic, outgoing, passionate people I have had the privilege to meet, and she will absolutely bring a great deal to the table. She's the kind of person who can't help but share to all who are in contact with her just how much her Savior means to her and how great a God is ours. So now my lone venture has evolved into a partnership, a tag team with the person I have already spent so much time in study and in the Word with. During our internship we will have a lot of free time and flexibility in our schedules between projects and setting up the infrastructure for the town we are creating, and we will be working with local churches (I am also conversationally fluent in Spanish) and an evangelist Phil has put us in contact with named Greg Roark.
This semester I spent my Monday nights in a leadership program called Joshua Team through an unaffiliated, inter-denominational campus bible study group. We focused on how to share the gospel, and specifically how Christ shared the gospel when He walked the earth, which is very different from current trends in the world today. Rather than focusing on numbers and getting people 'saved' as quickly as possible and moving on to the next person, the example Christ gives us is to truly invest in person, continuing to work and grow a person rather than calling it a day the moment they're dunked in some water. Our goal is to create a spiritual generation that will in turn create more spiritual generations, bringing the lost to Christ in an exponentially increasing chain. When our Lord began His ministry, he could have preached to the entire world and told His message to every soul on earth, but He didn't. Instead, we see Him spend the vast majority of His time with only twelve men. Why would He focus on just twelve, when He could have easily used His miraculous power to persuade entire nations that He is God? I think the answer to that question is in the frailty of the hearts of men. The Israelites saw the power of God time and time again, yet still fell away every time because of their lack of faith and the hardness of their hearts. If Christ would have given the gospel to every person on earth and saved every man and woman alive, but hadn't created followers with the devotion of the Twelve who would continue to proclaim God's grace and message in the face of death long after the Son had departed, the message would have simply died along with those it had been given firsthand, erased from earth as quickly as it arrived. God does not ask for lukewarm followers who tentatively make an attempt to follow His will most of the time, and when Christ said "Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe everything I have commanded you", it wasn't merely a suggestion. The focus here is on depth, not breadth, because breadth will have weak and limited results, while depth will multiply and continue to bear good fruit.
And by now I've gone off on a tangent, but what I want to say is that this is my goal. When I study with people and work to create a follower of Christ, my work isn't done until that person is not only able to stand on their own, but ready and willing to make disciples of their own, coming full circle. Sarah and I make a great team, and we're both very excited to get to work, starting with this summer as we work with christians and nonbelievers in San Miguel, Panama.
"Then He said to His disciples, 'The harvest is abundant, but the workers are few. Therefore, pray to the Lord of the harvest to send out workers into His harvest.'" -Matthew 9:37-38
Monday, April 30, 2012
Wednesday, April 4, 2012
Life on Our Earth and Beyond
"A society grows great when old men plant trees whose shade they know they shall never sit in.”
"Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up."
-Galatians 6:9
I read this quote earlier on in the week and it resonated with me. The way the world works today is a race to make the most money possible, and as long as you're successful, you can buy your way out of having to deal with any consequences. However, the costs don't simply disappear, instead they fall on the rest of the world and the earth itself. As far as maturity goes, I believe society itself is in its teenage years. We had small beginnings in infancy, went through a stage of selfishness and lack of reasoning ability during the dark ages, then finally developed some independence and intelligence during the Scientific and Industrial Revolutions, but along with that came the arrogance and perceived invincibility that plagues the early teenage years. As intelligent and advanced a culture as we are, we are just now beginning to develop the first rudiments of true wisdom. Earth is not invincible or unlimited, and neither are we. Now, this doesn't mean we should drop everything and become organic family farmers like the old days, there's a reason quality of life is significantly higher now than it was then. Technology plays a huge role in society today, and is arguably the defining aspect of this age. But in our self-congratulating pride, we forget that nature is infinitely more complex, advanced, efficient, and beautiful than anything man has ever created. We have a lot to learn from our Mother Earth.
Changing gears to another kind of Life, I have been in contact with a man named Greg Roark who works with some churches in San Miguel, Panama, where I will be staying this summer. To say that I'm excited to be meeting and working with christians down in Panama in a completely different culture than convenience-centric America would be the understatement of the year. I cannot wait to get involved in the work that can be done there. For those who don't know, up in Gainesville this past week I was blessed with the unforgettable opportunity to work in God's kingdom by baptizing my close friend Sarah McIntyre, who has an unbelievable heart for God, at around 12:30 at night after a long talk with her and a short phone call to our preacher Phil Robertson. Afterwards, Phil told me: "I hope this is the first of many". As important as my education and this internship is to me, I know that more important by far is bringing glory to my God and Life to His children. I'm certain living in Panama this summer will be a great experience for me in many aspects of my life, and I will have a lot to teach and even more to learn.
On the fundraising side, I would like to thank each and every person who has offered to help me financially in this endeavor. It really means a lot to me, and I appreciate every little bit. My parents and I are doing our best, and I am currently trying to set up a fundraiser up in Gainesville with Chick Fil-A, but in order to make this happen we need a little help. And if there are any who would like to donate to this cause, first of all: thank you! And secondly, if you see myself or my family regularly, you can get the money to one of us, but if not, you can make a donation via Paypal to the following email address:
rackett@ufl.edu
Paypal is an extremely secure site used by tons of major companies and all you need is some simple information and my email address to donate.
In closing, I would like to stress what a great opportunity this is for me, for people of Panama, for our Earth, and for spreading God's glory to every corner. I believe great things can come from this summer and in years to come.
-Galatians 6:9
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)