As the plane touches the ground of our final destination, thirty-six Americans step off onto foreign soil surrounded by unfamiliar earth. Soon we are through security and crammed onto buses for an hour ride across this new territory. For the next ten days, our mission team was going to be working all over the small island of Dominica, setting up Bible studies, passing out tracks, and inviting the community to the Gospel meeting at one of the area Churches of Christ. This sounds like an easy task, all we have to do is walk around, tell people to come to Church, and hand them a track, but boy was I wrong.
As we walked around in heat hotter than anything I have ever experienced, shouting “Hello, Hello Inside. Is anyone home?” People would come to the door to see what we had to say, but something was different here than over in the states. These people had a desire to know who God was and why they needed to be members of the Church. But as I realized this questions began to swarm my mind. Why do we feel it necessary to travel three thousand miles away from home to spread the gospel? Why is it so hard to spread the gospel where we are from, but not in a foreign,more dangerous place?
Isaiah 41:10 says, “So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.” Sometimes we are so scared about what others will think of us if we tell them about our Savior. Sometimes we are anxious to tell others but don't know exactly what to say. Sometimes we are panicked when we are asked a question that we disregard it entirely and occasionally lose a soul. In Dominica, I was so worried that I would say the wrong thing, not say enough, or say too much, but these people had open hearts and just wanted to learn. I learned this each night at the gospel meeting, there was a Bible given away to someone who was not a member of the Church if they could answer a question from the lesson. Every single night a young person would raise their hand as high as they could because they wanted that Bible so abundantly. We need a drive as Christians like these young people. We have the greatest gift we could ever ask for in God’s word and we take it for granted far too often.
I once was told this story:
One day a man named George entered Heaven and found himself in a circle of many people, of whom were many strong Biblical people of faith. Each member of the circle was going around and telling what they did in service to the Lord on this earth. Daniel began “ I was thrown into a lion's den for praying, but that did not stop me. I had nothing to fear because my God “strengthened me and helped me” until I was safe. Next came Noah and He said, “ God told me to build a boat because there was a flood coming, but I had no clue what a flood was. However, I began to tell people to listen but they wouldn’t and they all perished.” Finally, Paul was up and he started accounting his life, “ I once killed Christians because I didn't believe in a so called Jesus, but after being blinded I soon believed. I was thrown in prison and persecuted for what I believe. Nevertheless, I knew that my Lord would take care of me no matter what.” Then came our friend George. George was shy but began “
One day I got out my Bible, suddenly Daniel said, “ Woah, you mean you had all six six books in one place?” George looked confused but confidently said “yes”, then continued, “One day I got out my Bible and went to school, sat in my seat, and began to try to tell my classmates about Jesus.” Then Noah interrupted him, “ You had all these people in one place, at one time!” George looking puzzled stumbled out the words, “of course” then continued, “One day I got out my Bible and went to school, sat in my seat, and began to try to tell my classmates about Jesus, but they laughed at me so I gave up.” Paul looked perplexed and said “Then what?” George looked bewildered and said, “They laughed at me and I lost friends.” The other men looked at him and said, “ You had the sixty-six books of the Bible at your disposal, a school full of souls, and the talents God gave you to spread the gospel, but you didn't because they made fun of you?” George ashamedly muttered, “ Well,yes” The men walked away with their heads hung low with their question answered. This was why there were fewer souls coming into Heaven nowadays.
While this is a far fetched story that probably will not happen in Heaven, it illustrates to us a vital point. “By your endurance, you will gain your lives”, Luke 21:19. We have to be able to endure the struggles and obstacles that satan throws at us, we are going to lose friends, we are going to be laughed at, and we are going to be different, but that is okay. When we enlisted to be Christians no one said it would be a walk in the park. No one said it was going to be rainbows and unicorns. No one said it was going to be easy. However, everyone said it was going to be worth it. We have the inspired word of God all bound into one place, but often it sits on the shelf gathering dust. Dominica taught me to have a drive for the Lord, to want to worship His High and awesome name. So are you going to sink or swim?
