“Through the Spirit, Christ offered himself as an unblemished sacrifice, freeing us from all those dead-end efforts to make ourselves respectable, so that we can live all out for God.” ~ Hebrews 9:14-15 (The Message)
With only 11 days left in Cherokee, I’ve already started getting all sorts of questions about my internship experience. Upon hearing that I am interested in ministry, oftentimes people automatically–and unintentionally–begin to consider me some sort of superhuman or martyr. One look at my life will remind others and myself that is certainly not the case, and this brings me to something I have noticed during this season of full-time ministry.
Regardless of our spiritual condition, our passion, our skill sets, our gifts, and even the comfort we have in Christ, ministry is difficult. The air is thick with spiritual warfare, and our finite human condition prevents us from really becoming the flawless saint that we feel pressured to be. And a lot of times, the good news of the Gospel becomes lost as we scramble for some sense of progress, of having it all together. The mission field has a funny way of quickly exposing all of our flaws, sins, and frustrations. It’s easy to get lost in our own imperfection as exhaustion takes over even though we surround ourselves with religious routines. We become frustrated, because all the praying, bible reading, and disciple-making suddenly doesn’t seem like enough for us lame humans.
And you know what? That’s true. The only thing that “qualifies” broken humans like you and me is the grace of Christ. Whether we are new Christians or experienced, missionaries or homebodies, we have an innate desire and outward pressure to “make ourselves respectable.” And when we can’t accomplish that–which, spoiler alert, we can’t–we often think there is some spiritual deficiency to blame. We’re calling people to repent of their sins, to be forgiven, and yet our own life still seems like filthy rags. But isn’t that where the good news comes in?
We have a Savior! And yes, salvation tastes even sweeter once we have realized the depth of our sin. I spent years sitting in my shame, I’m still guilty of that sometimes. My call to ministry started with the realization that I want no one to be in the darkness where I once was. I have been in places of shame, places of regret, places of self-loathing, the list goes on. We must constantly remind ourselves and each other that the beauty of the Gospel is that it doesn’t end there. God doesn’t say “Come to me so that I can make you a better person. Come to me, and become respectable.” It is for freedom that we have been set free! Ministry and missions doesn’t begin with “You have sinned. You have done wrong. Live a different life.” Our mission begins with “See this wonderful light I have found! There is more worth living for, there is redemption for us all!”
Christ has freed us from the need to make ourselves respectable. The salvation we are given begins to seep into all that we do, all that we are. And that is when we can’t help but share it. We are all in need of salvation. That need is evident in the brokenness of this world, and the imperfections of our lives. In the face of our mess, grace abounds. God does not ask us to become saints, He calls us to abide in His love. It is there that we can truly thrive, missionary or not.
My sacrifice of one summer does not imply God’s favor. I can share my story as a broken person made new in Christ. I can truly live, not for myself but all out for God, because of grace, because of freedom, because it’s good news, and that’s something to celebrate!
Rev. Bekah Rhea, MDiv. 