Beautiful Things

After being in Uganda for about a month, there have been so many amazing opportunities for ministry. I’ve been able to teach math and science classes, preach a sermon last Sunday morning on Mark 9:42-50 and start to build relationships with the students of Makobore High School.
 
Preaching in church was extremely nerve wrecking but also incredibly encouraging and rewarding spiritually. Mark 9:42-50 says, “But if you cause one of these little ones who trusts in me to fall into sin, it would be better for you to be thrown into the sea with a large millstone hung around your neck. If your hand causes you to sin, cut it off. It’s better to enter eternal life with only one hand than to go into the unquenchable fires of hell with two hands. If your foot causes you to sin, cut it off. It’s better to enter eternal life with only one foot than to be thrown into hell with two feet. And if your eye causes you to sin, gouge it out. It’s better to enter the Kingdom of God with only one eye than to have two eyes and be thrown into hell, where the maggots never die and the fire never goes out. For everyone will be tested with fire. Salt is good for seasoning. But if it loses its flavor, how do you make it salty again? You must have the qualities of salt among yourselves and live in peace with each other.”
 
This passage was rather lengthy and somewhat difficult to dissect, so all I could do was trust that the Lord would speak through me during the service. There were two main points that really stuck out to when reading these verses. First, that the passage wasn’t actually suggesting for us to amputate our hands and feet, but instead it’s stressing the importance of cutting sin out of our life. Because sin effects more than our hands and our feet, it affects our mind and heart as well. The second point was how salt was used to illustrate qualities that believers should have. In Matthew 5:13 believers are called “the salt of the earth.” If seasoning or salt has no flavor, then it has no value. So, if we as Christians make no effort to affect the world around us, then we are little value to God. As believers we shouldn’t try to blend in with everyone else. Instead we should affect others positively, just as salt and seasoning brings out the best flavors in food. Reading and talking about these verses definitely made me focus on the things I need to cut out of my life that cause me to sin.
 
Unfortunately, this spiritual high I had experienced from preaching did not last long into the week. If there aren’t any classes to teach while the boys are in school all day, our team doesn’t have much to do except wait until after school. In the periods of all this waiting this week, I began to feel spiritually discouraged and homesick. And for the first time, I questioned why God had even called me to Africa.
 
But God never fails to show His faithfulness when I need it the most. Wednesday evening we don’t play sports with the boys like we do other nights but instead we have an evening fellowship service. I have mentioned before how much I enjoy worship and how wonderful it is here. But that’s because it never fails to refresh me and remind me of God’s amazing love. The joy these boys have when they worship is contagious.
 
After the service I was able to have a really wonderful conversation with Noah, one of the students, about God’s unfailing love. Although our lives are so different our faith will always be common ground. Between the worship with the boys and my conversation with Noah, I felt like a completely different person. I was refreshed and filled with the Holy Spirit.
 
God completely brought me out of a cloud of confusion and doubt this week. It reminded me of the song Beautiful Things by Gungor. The lyrics go,
                You make beautiful things, you make beautiful things out of dust.
                You make beautiful things, you make beautiful things out of us.
I felt like I was surrounded by so much dust and confusion but God brought me out of it to show me the beauty of His love and faithfulness.