As my bus travels along the unlimited autobahn to Frankfurt, Germany for my flight to Tobago, I gaze out the window at the rolling green hills, the occasional picturesque village and most of all, the expensive black BMWs that speed by. A thought enters my mind: I would really love to live and work in Germany and drive a fast, black, shiny car and live in a beautiful village. I would like to get married, settle down, live the easy life and make lots of money. I especially like the cold climate of northwest Europe. But I am on my way to one of the hottest parts of the world and to a life of sacrifice. I won’t have a car at all and I will be sharing a little cabin with three other blokes, eating what is given to me and doing whatever I am told. I have elected to live this life because I believe that God has called me to join the ministry of the Logos Hope.
As I look forward to the trials and hardships that may befall me in the coming two years, I think how hard it seems to go on. And as I think of all that I have left behind and all that I could be aquiring that I have sacrificed, it seems so easy to ‘abandon ship’ and run back towards my old life. It is almost as though I am walking up a steep slope towards God’s plan for my life and I would much rather slide back down the slippery slope towards the things I used to enjoy. But as I consider difficulty to press on, I am reminded of the honour of serving God and the amazing adventures that await me and the ways in which God will use me to reach those who have not heard of Jesus. It is so wonderful to press on in what God has laid before me. And as I think of how easy it is to slip back into old habits, even on the ship, I am reminded of just how dissapointing it would be to abandon the life that God has called me to live.
Sometimes it seems like living the Christian life is too hard and it would be so much fun to just take back a few habits from our old life, but Christ has called us to move forward, not backward, into the life that he has prepared for us and the good works He has prepared for us to do.
Press on.