The Divide

There's a divide here in Haiti and it can easily be missed. Well, in some places in can be. Today I'm sitting at the Villa while the team is out working. I'm not feeling great (first experience in 35+ mission trips) and hope after a restful day to regain some energy, I'll join in the work for the next days - although it will be less work than normal with lots of breaks.

This is my view for the day and it's deceptive. I've sat here in previous days but for moments. It could be mistaken for a caribbean paradise if you don't look closely. That big tree to the right of the umbrella is full of delicious mangos. The water in the pool is refreshing. The tropical flowers and especially, just on the left edge of the photo, is a beautiful bougainvellia (I think). Under the blue canopy is a drink cooler with refreshing coke, sprite and a local flavor. Water coolers surround us with refreshing, cold water. Palm trees speak of a tropical paradise.

But look closely, just above the blue canopy, and you'll see the divide. We're surrounded by it on all sides. It's there to keep what's out out. This morning we were treated to a plume of smoke from burning trash, just over that blue canopy - on the outside. It's a brutal world outside these walls.

I'd like to be here, sitting beside this pool, with a rum & coke. I'd prefer a little umbrella in my drink and a clear view of the Caribbean blue waters.

Last night we talked about discipleship - if we're truly crucified with Christ and it is Christ living in us and no longer we for ourselves, then what are the practical implications? It ultimately comes down to choices - will I serve me and what I want or will I serve Him and follow His call? And I've heard it all over this quarter century of church leadership.

"It used to be this way and that's what we need to do again."

"I want to pick and choose what I do here and I don't like doing that thing."

"I just didn't feel like getting up today."

"Another church had something better today so I went there."

Discipleship is about serving others and not ourselves. What we find, I said last night, is that when we give up that which we don't want to for the thing we know God is calling us to, we discover that what we gain is far better than what we feared giving up.

We're called to cross the divide rather than stay where we want, feeding our own desires in exchange for His call. Leadership, for instance, is all about the ones we serve, not about us. My life is hidden in Christ (Colossians 3) - my past is hidden away - my present is about serving Him - my future has an already promised destination. My position is as if I'm already seated with Him. In my present condition, God asks me to trust Him to grow my heart and life, bringing my position and condition closer together. That requires discipleship. Saying yes to Him which means saying no to some other things. In discipleship we can't have it both ways. But, I'll say it again, that which we gain is far greater than that which we feared giving up.

Are you a ship enjoying the harbor rather than the open seas you were designed for? What is the name of the tropical pool you would like to lounge by rather than crossing the divide into discipleship? What step will you take to begin today?

Here's to another day tomorrow, an opportunity to grow the condition of my heart to match the position of my eternity.