When I was a freshman in high school I went on my first mission trip to Copperhill, TN. I had the opportunity to repair houses that were falling apart in every way. At the end of the week, I was filled with joy and really on a “Jesus high.” I felt great and was thankful for the 7 days that I had to serve. The next year we went back and once again I was filled with love and contentment because I had just helped these people. They were both great trips, but they were both only a week out of the year that I focused on service.
When we sign up for a mission trip we prepare by reading the gospel and anticipating what the week is going to be like. Almost every time we come back, we feel fulfilled and then a few weeks later we move on with our lives. The thing about it is, that being a Christian and serving the Lord isn’t about going on a mission trip once a year, it’s about making our lives a mission trip.
We were all called to love and to serve which is something that seems to come so naturally to us when we go away for a week. Unfortunately, we fail to do this in our everyday lives. The Lord didn’t call us to serve for one week in a year, He calls us to serve every day. No matter where you are or what you do you always have the opportunity to do the work of God. We get so caught up in our lives that we don’t take time to share the gospel with a friend, or help a neighbor fix something in their home or just be kind to those around us. It’s expected when you're on a trip that you do all of these things, so why do we change our behavior when we get back home?
After doing a few trips here in the United States I had the opportunity to travel down to Haiti for a week. During the week, we painted multiple houses and built relationships with the Haitians. A few of the days that we were painting, some of the neighbors in the village would come over, pick up a brush, and get right to work. Nobody asked them to and it definitely wasn’t something they had to do, but they did it anyways. They jumped right in to serve the Lord without ever being prompted too.
One of the last days in Haiti we had the opportunity to talk to women who lived in the village we worked in that week. We talked to her about her children, her home and many different aspects of her life. Toward the end, someone asked if there was anything that she wanted to ask us. At this point, I’m running through my head all of the questions she could ask us about our culture or our country but her question dug so much deeper than that. She looked up at us and the one thing she wanted to know was: what was our relationship with God like? I was in shock. Here I was on a week trip to spread the gospel but yet she was just in another average day, serving the Lord, reaching out to us and making sure that we fully knew who God was.
This woman was living a life to glorify God and that is something that we all need to do. God loved us enough to die for us and that isn’t something that should just be recognized once a year. We are called to love and to serve every day. We need to be more open to the things and the people God is leading us to and do whatever we can to make sure that we are glorifying Him. Every day we have the opportunity to serve the Lord, so why don’t we. Do it, be courageous, step out of your comfort zone and go serve. Always know that no matter where you go or what you do the Lord will go with you and who knows, maybe today will be the day you change someone’s life.
