Faultless.

On Sunday morning I went to church. On Monday morning I went to the dentist.


The service Sunday morning was on James 1:19-27. I enjoyed the service and the preacher gave a "good" sermon. In theory all sermons are "good"-- a sermon would only be deemed "bad" if the pastor were spitting blatant lies or the church goer was being convicted in an area they did not feel like being convicted in. No, I think it comes to is this: we call church services "good" IF we were actually paying attention. Allow me to share with you what stood out to me in the service that morning. The pastor reminded us that we are called to "live the Word." He quoted, "Many people mark their Bibles-- but don't let their Bibles mark them." Wow. So how do we "live the Word" and how do allow the Bible to "mark" us? Although there are probably a variety of ways, we can begin with our service. The Bible reminds us in James 1:27, "Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world." The preacher edified and thanked the congregation for all they had done and all the ways that they had served in order to fulfill this mandate. He congratulated them on their many missions trips and successful ministries in Africa and all over the world. It made me cry. Just a little bit. This is where my heart is. I want to help kids for the rest of my life-- I want my life to be a ministry. I'm not exactly sure what it will look like-- but I know I want to look after those in distress and those in need.


Flash forward to Monday morning-- Dentist office
I was in the waiting room-- waiting-- and talking to the receptionist at the desk. She asked me if I was in college, a fair assumption given my age and culture. I told her what I had been doing and where, and she asked me about the conditions of where I had been working. She told me that she lacked any real desire to travel (and do missions) because she didn't want to see. She said she didn't think she could handle seeing people in dire need. I understand that it can be hard to face something so trying as poverty or starvation-- I've never seen starving babies face to face before. There's a lot out there that has yet to break my heart. But her comment made me sad. Because I realized that it is that mentality that prevents so many people from doing something. Ignorance is not bliss. Ignorance is what prevents us from practicing that true and holy, faultless religion that calls us to help those in need. I don't believe that everyone is called to be a missionary in a foreign country-- but I do believe that we are called to open our eyes and take our fingers out of our ears and listen and see the opportunities God has given us to help the less fortunate. And it starts with you.