PEELING THE ORANGE

On September 2nd, forty-three people from three churches loaded up in Grapevine and caravanned to the border. The mission? Reaching the people of Acuña with the Good News of Christ by handing out Gospel messages door-to-door and screening the Jesus Film in two neighborhoods.

I always struggle to describe each trip. Let me use the analogy of an orange. Sometimes I limit my description to the peel. This is the outside appearance, the adventure, the cultural experience, the fun of being with others, the joy of laboring together, the surprises from God, the break from the daily hum-drum. That is the peel, or should I say the “appeal”.

Sometimes I describe the fruit which is the center of the work itself. That would be describing the specific tasks and events. It might even include the emotions we felt and even some tears we shared.

Today, I want to address the core, or the seeds. The seeds are the sustaining motivation for long-lasting continual service. The peel is attractive, the fruit is filling, but only the seeds reproduce. After experiencing the beauty of the peel and richness of the fruit, many people leave the "mission work" for the next exciting adventure.

What is the seed that continues to reproduce? On this trip to Acuña, Mexico I tried to explain the seed by choosing a theme for the trip. The theme was "Pour Out My Love". This is the title of a song by Phillips, Craig, and Dean. I think the song is taken from the passage in Luke that describes the woman who had found her purpose in life. She had been a prostitute and Jesus saved her. She wept tears on his feet and dried them with her hair. She poured expensive perfume on his feet and kissed them. Jesus was her treasure. She worshiped and adored Him. When our goal is to "pour our love on Him", we will look for every opportunity. It can be at home, next door or anywhere in the world. We are responding to Jesus and our devotion is to Him. He is our treasure. If you don't have a meaningful personal relationship with Jesus, what are you offering to the hurting and the lost? We can't offer what we don't have. The only thing we have of eternal value is a relationship with Jesus Christ.

I am not ashamed of loving each layer of the orange. Having fun is important to a healthy spiritual life. But, the orange peel can lose its appeal. The fruit can lose its popularity. Only those who have the seed, the personal devotion to Jesus, continually reproduce. They may be cleaning toilets, teaching children, or sharing a Bible story with adults, but they are serving Jesus. On this trip, as we worked out of the seed God has placed in us, it was amazing to see His love spread through the distribution of His Word to 2000 homes. Also, what a privilege to see two local churches take names of 25 adults and multiple children who made decisions or asked for follow-up after the film screenings. Jesus said, "When you have done it unto the least of these, you have done it unto me." This never gets old or boring. No matter the location, pour out your love on Him.

::Bob Beams

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