In Christ Alone

At worship rehearsal we practiced "In Christ Alone" to play next week. This verse really hit me:

"In Christ alone my hope is found;
He is my light, my strength, my song.This Cornerstone, this solid ground,Firm through the fiercest drought and storm."


Here's the whole song:

So, I listen to a song like this and God reminds me of the need for all nations to hear His name. I go through hard times all of the time, but I am blessed to have the Lord to guide me through them. So many people don't know His name. They don't know this Cornerstone. They don't know this Strength. They don't know this Hope. My heart breaks for these people.

I love this song because for so many reasons. It starts off by reminding you that your life is only possible through the Lord. Then, it reminds you why: The Gospel. We are all sinners and the wages of that sin is death. But God loved the world so much that He gave His one and only Son, Jesus, to die so that we don't have to. We are washed clean of our sin by the blood of Jesus and are free to live now because of what He did, and nothing could ever take us away from that forgiveness! No matter how bleak today becomes, I have hope that the Lord will provide a better tomorrow, either on this earth or in Heaven.

What strength and joy we have, knowing this! My heart is broken for the billions of people who don't know this today -- the people who go through life daily on their own, with no hope. That's why we go. We go to bring hope.

The greatest commandment

So, I'm thinking this blog will turn into a "Why do we go, Part 2." I am preparing for more mission trips that are coming up, both soon and hopefully for the rest of my life, so this is definitely something that has been weighing heavily on my heart for a while now!

I am reading a book about a missionary to Uganda right now, because I am going to Uganda in about 3 months; it is called Kisses from Katie. I'm pretty tempted to just write down a couple paragraphs out of this book that smacked me in the face... I'll try and paraphrase.

In Luke 14:26, Jesus says to His followers, "If anyone comes to me and does not hate his father and mother, his wife and children, his brothers and sisters -- yes, even his own life -- he cannot be my disciple."

Hold up. So, doesn't this verse seem to contradict what Jesus told us was the second greatest commandment, to love your neighbor as yourself? Well, no! If you want to understand what Jesus said in the verse from Luke, you have to remember the greatest commandment, too. Love the Lord your God with all your heart, mind, soul and strength. Jesus is telling us in Luke that we need to love God so much, that all other loves look like hatred!

In the book, Katie was torn between to halves of herself, obeying her parents wishes and going to college or staying in Uganda permanently and being with the children God had placed graciously into her life. Both of these choices were good, but one was best. One was God's plan.

She was so torn because she loves her parents and she wants to honor her father and mother, like the Bible tells us to do; however, God gave her a heart and a home in Uganda.

She read Luke 14:26 and realized that her love for the Lord and His will in her life was worth more than her love for any other worldly thing, so she stayed in Uganda. Her love for the Lord was so strong, she could choose to follow Him despite the consequences here.

So, why do we go? Because we love the Lord our God with all of our heart, mind, soul and strength and we love our neighbors as ourselves. God gave all of us these commands and He has also commanded us to go and spread His name. You might not be called to sell all of your possessions and move to Africa, but if you are a child of God, you are called to make God's name great wherever you are!

So, my challenge to you is this: Do you love the Lord so much that you would share His name, no matter the cost on this earth? Do you value Him over everything else that this world has to offer?