ies. Consider Paul's evaluation, "the God to whom I belong and whom I serve" is able to care for me. All that he needed was a re minder that he belonged to the Lord. This was not the first time he had been shipwrecked. There were others as well (II Corinthians 11:25). These had happened to him before the incident recorded in Acts. He, like many of our missionaries to day, had gotten used to danger. I think of those ambassadors of the cross in Laos, Thailand, Cambo dia, the Philippines and, of course, Viet Nam. Sometimes when people think about being a missionary, they imagine all the dreadful things that could happen such as dying from cholera, being eaten by pih- ranas, frozen to death in the Arctic, or killed by the ruthless bandits of Asia. All of these things could not happen to you. They are mutually exclusive ways of finishing life. In this way, we begin to realize that, in fact, we have only to go one place, and when we get to the un known it is not unknown any more. For this reason, we see mission aries in these situations working wonderfully and in encouraging ways. I think of the day when I went out through floods in Central Thai land. It was quite frightening at times riding on the back of a mo tor bike, going over bridges where the water of the rivers had risen so high that it was a couple of feet above the bridge deck itself. Water would swirl up over our legs and threaten to pull us under. We drove to a little church and found a woman missionary already there. She was a leprosy nurse whose clothing was mud-spattered. Here were all her patients seeking help Page 17
nabas, and more churches like the one at Jerusalem. This was a con gregation that really felt involved with its missionaries. I trust there are some Barnabases in your con gregation and that together you will find the Lord's will in sending them out to join us in other parts of the world where Christians and churches are so few. What a tre mendous ministry and opportunity awaits us. The God to Whom I Belong How challenging are the testi monies of the Lord's servants re corded in the Bible. Paul was in a storm at sea and facing shipwreck as he affirmed his faith in "The God to whom I belong and whom I serve" (Acts 27::23). Although he is in grave peril he is not afraid. In order to fulfill His purposes God often brings His servants into places of danger. Earlier in his ministry Paul and Silas were seized by the mob, stripped, beaten and cast in to prison where their feet were fastened in the stocks. Yet, they sang and, as a result, God brought an earthquake. Keep in mind that the Lord is not primarily interested in our comfort. We may be put into dangerous sit uations that ultimately may bring blessing to others. In recent visits to some of our stations in Asia, I have found ambassadors of the cross who live daily in grave dan ger. The whole world is a revolu tionary situation and resembles a powder keg ready to be set off. Why would anyone want to go to places like these? It is obviously the love of Christ which constrains them and God has put them there. How challenged we should be with the attitude of the missionar
Made with FlippingBook Annual report