I have been taking groups on mission trips with Mission Serve for over ten years now. Only once in those ten years have I served as part of a specific work crew, and that was my first year. Every subsequent year, I have either served as the speaker, as part of the worship band, or in both capacities. One of the benefits of serving as the speaker/band is I get to visit all of the worksites. This allows me see how things are going with my crew and to connect with a greater number of the participants from various groups. The downside is I rarely have the opportunity to make connections with any of the homeowners. My focus is on engaging, encouraging, and empowering our participants to be missionaries, both on location and at home, through the truth of the gospel. This year was different than most. One of the homes to which we sent a crew was right next door to the church where we were staying. Members of the support staff and myself were able to walk over and help with the project or engage the homeowner several times during the week.
The first time I met Mr. Frank, I was somewhat concerned as to how the week was going to go. Mr. Frank is in his late 60’s. He lives alone in a small two-bedroom house that happens to be his childhood home. He is not married and has no children. From our conversations I gathered that he has no family, period. My first impression was that he was a very angry and bitter individual. Mr. Frank was extremely defensive and didn’t seem all that eager to have a group of strangers working on his house. At one point, I found myself wondering why Mr. Frank had agreed to have us work on his house in the first place.
On my first visit to the house, someone informed Mr. Frank that I was in a position of authority. He marched over to me and informed me that he needed to talk to me. We headed out to his porch and he began listing his complaints. I assured him that we understood and respected his concerns and that I would talk to the appropriate people to make sure his house was in proper working order by the end of the week. He was less than satisfied with my answer, but he agreed to give it some time and see what happened.
Every time I came to the house Mr. Frank would call me to the side and would list his concerns, but as time went on he also began communicating his gratitude. His scowl would periodically break into a smile. As we continued having our cyclical conversations I had a revelation. Mr. Frank wasn’t angry and bitter. Mr. Frank was afraid. He was afraid that allowing outsiders in would put him at personal risk. He was afraid that he wouldn’t be able to adapt and adjust to new realities in his world. He was afraid that we might think poorly of him because he needed help.
By the end of the week, Mr. Frank’s house wasn’t the only thing that had been changed. As he began to allow the students to help him and as they showed him grace, respect, and love, Mr. Frank’s heart began to soften. His lists of complaints turned into lists of compliments. His spirit of fear and frustration turned to joy and gratitude. The same man who was afraid to let us into his life was sad to see us leave.
In Matthew 5:1-9 there is a story of Jesus healing a lame man at the pool of Bethesda. The pool was believed to have healing qualities, so the man was clearly there to try to get better. Jesus asked the man, “Do you want to get well?” I’ve always found that to be a strange question. The answer would seem to be self-evident. However, the man didn’t give the obvious answer. Instead, he provided a list of reasons as to why he couldn’t get better. The truth is, this man had grown accustomed to his reality and knew how to live that life. Getting well would require him to learn a whole new pattern of living. Getting well was a frightening proposition. Jesus, of course, provided the man with what he needed and the man walked off into his new life.
I wonder how often we are like Mr. Frank or the man in the passage. I’m guessing it’s more often than we realize. How often do we balk at or outright refuse to receive the help that we so desperately need? Further, what is it that is keeping us from receiving help and walking into the new reality before us? God’s desire is that we might have life and have it to the full. In order for us to receive that life, we must be humble enough to accept assistance when we need it. We must have faith enough to allow someone else to influence our reality. And, we must be courageous enough to step into the new life that is offered. Though it may be uncertain and uncomfortable at the outset, the truth is, it is what we need.
