Leaving Home

With our house under contract and closing in 20 days with no place to look forward to yet, it feels like all there is only sadness. Leaving friends and neighbors who care for us so well. Leaving the known, the beautiful and the safe all for the sake of seeing God be glorified in students lives. And if you know anything about college students, they are a beautiful challenge. They are at a place where they are becoming who they will be and making decisions that will affect them for the rest of thier lives. For many, college is the time when thier love for the Lord grows into passion and living for God's kingdom and glory becomes an obsesssion. But it is not all roses... it seems there is always some students who we to call to something greater than living for thier flesh and after investing many hours, even years into thier life, they can easily turn on you. This is what we are leaving beauty, saftey, being well cared for, convience, comfort and relationships for. For people who may turn on us at any given moment.

But then isnt that what Jesus did? He left heaven... its safety, beauty, comfort, ease, being well cared for-worshipped no less to live among people who would not only turn on Him but would slaughter Him. Apparently He thought it was worth it. "Truly I tell you, Jesus replied, no one who has left home or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or fields for me and the gospel will fail to receive a hundred times as much in this present age: homes, brothers, sisters, mothers, children and fields-along with persecutions-and in the age to come eternal life." Mk 10:29 So, I am encouraged to "joyfully accept the confiscation of your property because you knew that you yourselves had better and lasting possessions. So dont throw away your confidence, it will be richly rewarded. You need to persevere...for in just a little while, he who is coming will come and will not delay." Heb. 10:32-37  And "I know that our present sufferings are not worthy to be compared with the glory that will be revealed in us."  Rom. 8:18 "Therfore we do not lose heart...for our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal." 2 Cor. 4:16