More than Numbers (5/30/09 - 6/5/09)

Great is the LORD and greatly to be praised:

During our time in Lima, the Father has really worked out some details on things that only He could have done. I am so thankful that His sovereign hand has been at work here!

Prayer Necessities for the Skimmers:

1. Please be in prayer for Lori, as she is no longer a part of the team. Pray that the Lord would have His way in her life in every way and that He would use her to glorify Himself.

2. Continue to pray for team unity as we draw close to one another in this time immediately following the loss of a team member. Our remaining team is pictured at the bottom of this post, with me and Amy in the first photo and Misty and Leah in the second.

3. Pray for favor in the Bolivian consulate in Puno, Peru. We travel there this weekend to officially begin the visa process. Pray that the Lord would pave the way and that we would be allowed to enter the country quickly and efficiently.

Inquring Minds Wanna Know (Bonus for the Readers):

As Americans, we love numbers. Sports scores, school grades, statistics. We use numbers all the time to measure results. By the way, did you know that 82% of Americans use statistics on a daily basis? Nah, I just made that up, but I think you get my point. :)

Baptists love numbers, too. We take the attendance in Sunday School each week, we count the number of contacts we make to church prospects, we keep a record of baptisms. All of that is meant to determine how successful we are in doing the LORD's work.

Even missionaries have their numerical goals. When I was in the application process, I had to keep a record of the number of times I had shared the Gospel in the last six months. During my orientation, we were required to share our faith at least three times a week. And now I also have different goals to meet, but the purpose is the same: You need to reach this number.

Don't get me wrong: I, too, like to measure life by numbers. I was a pharmacist, for goodness' sake! Give me a calculator and a patient's lab results, and I can correct an abnormal electrolyte value in no time. Numbers make sense to me.

But God doesn't measure success by numbers. First of all, our feeble human efforts - whether it's in how many times we've shared the Gospel or how many baptisms our church has had - have NOTHING to do with how well His work is done. God is God, and His will is accomplished perfectly with or without us. He doesn't need our help to do anything.

Secondly, my success as a believer in Christ does not depend on how much money I give or how many times I go to the church building each week or how well I sing the songs. It only depends on my obedience to the LORD. If we truly want to measure success, we should look at that number: How many times today was I obedient to what God told me? I wonder how many of us would want to know that particular statistic.

And, finally, the LORD looks predominantly at the number one. When the shepherd had 99 safe sheep, he still went to search for the one that was lost (Luke 15:3-7). When the woman had nine coins, she still cleaned the house to find the lost one (Luke 15:8-10). And the father, though he had a faithful son at home, still yearned for the prodigal one and rejoiced when he returned home (Luke 15:11-32). God cares more about developing the relationship to win that lost son than He does about our mathematical attempts to win thousands.

This blog is really a conglomeration of my thoughts in response to the words of my boss this week. In preparing us for our first visit to a jungle community, he asked us our goal. Of course, we responded like good little missionaries and said, "To share stories from the Bible." That sounds pretty great, right? What a noble goal!

So we were really surprised when he said, "No. Your goal is to obey the LORD in whatever He says. If that's sharing stories, you do that. If it's cutting grass with a machete, you do that. If it's playing football [that's soccer to those of you in the States! :)], you do that. You are there to serve the LORD by serving these people."

Wow. That knocked my missionary halo down a notch or two. But it was so freeing! I'd never realized the amount of pressure those numbers put on us. If I don't share a Gospel tract with everyone with whom I come in contact, am I a terrible Christian? Not if I'm not being disobedient. Sometimes the LORD tells us to share, sometimes He tells us to serve, and sometimes He tells us to do neither. But "there is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven" (Eccl. 3:1).

As you go, obey. Seek to build relationships with others, both believers and non-believers. And see how God uses your obedience to build His kingdom and to make you into a successful disciple!