A few weeks ago in our staff chapel service, the speaker reminded us again that “our work matters on behalf of the persecuted church.” When you work in a Christian organization, it’s easy to get caught up in your day-to-day tasks and forget about the big picture of the work you are contributing to. We try to do the tasks we’re given with excellence, but it can be easy to forget why we are doing them.
Perhaps you feel that way. Perhaps you feel that the $20 a month you send doesn’t make much of a difference. Perhaps you read story after story from VOM, offering up a prayer as you go, but feel like your prayers don’t do much. Perhaps you feel that you should be doing more, but you don’t know what you CAN do.
One of the amazing characteristics of our God is that he doesn’t measure things the way we do. Like the widow who gave her last two pennies, the amount of that $20 doesn’t matter; it’s the heart-state that it represents. It shows our willingness to sacrifice and give of ourselves. And our prayers are the same way. With each prayer, we are obeying the directive to “pray without ceasing” and “bear one another’s burdens,” no matter the impact. That part is up to God.
Our prayers, our funds, our time spent on behalf of the
persecuted church, when given with a joyful heart, are a pleasing offering to
God. And yet, as we pour out our lives in service to God, there is always
something more we can be doing. For me, it’s spending more concentrated time in
prayer. It’s also being more aware moment by moment that my time given to work
here is an offering to God. It can’t be an offering if I operate on autopilot.
It’s only an offering when I’m doing it consciously, intentionally.
What about you? What can you do to better serve the persecuted church right now, or how can you change how you are currently doing things? Offer your thoughts in the comments below.
Dory P. has worked with VOM for six years. She grew up in Ecuador, met her husband while working with another mission organization, and now lives in Oklahoma. Between Dory, her husband and two-year-old son, they share five passports. Dory helps tell the stories of the persecuted through VOM's newsletter, and her husband serves with VOM's international department.
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