Why am I going tomorrow? Glad you asked. I just re-read an article by Andrew Knight on the ‘Four Reasons Why We Leave’. I have many reasons but Knight’s are like mine and I’ll summarize. #1, “We leave because God saves us to send us”. Not every Sunday-goer is aware. We love being spared what our life deserves in the end and grace is not natural for us. God teaches us by applying His grace to us. The second thought is that the gospel saves the unreached. I often talk about my parent’s desire for a boy. They were kind to their three girls but, as much humor as I see in it, when I retired I came up with BOB (the name I would have borne had God not said otherwise.) B – have a burden for the lost, O – be obedient to God’s redemptive design, and B – be brave enough to go. Knight’s number three probably fits me best in this season – the gospel saves us from living for ourselves. Since retirement I visit grandkids and drink too much coffee. I love on my people but I think looking for chocolate whenever I have a craving is not the best use of my time. The last, or fourth, “We leave because so few do”. Yep – it’s a numbers game. That is why an older person like me will take a chance. I cannot guarantee energy and success, but I hope to volunteer so the real missions people are not so taken up with the mundane. I will pray for opportunities to open my mouth and speak what the Holy Spirit put into Peter on the Day of Pentecost. I do not need more stamps on my passport although I do love walking down narrow cobblestone streets. So I’m leaving on a jet plane and will return in three-months time. I hope to write often.
