“’Do not be too sad, Sam. You cannot always be torn in two. You will have to be one and whole, for many years. You have so much to enjoy and to be, and to do…I tried to save the Shire, and it has been saved, but not for me. It must often be so, Sam, when things are in danger: some one has to give them up, lose them, so that others may keep them…your part of the Story goes on.’” These are Frodo’s final words to his dear friend and comrade Sam in The Return of the King, as they are getting ready to part ways and experience new chapters in their lives.
We are living a great tale – a tale of the sovereign King Jesus extending His reign of mercy to hearts in every tribe and tongue and people and nation. It’s a story, with a grand plot and with purpose and significance in every twist and turn and in every word and deed and entrance and exit of every character. It’s a war, waged with a self-sacrificing love that wields the gospel after the example of our Commander, with many fronts and many battlegrounds. It really is a beautiful story, how it weaves together heartache and sorrow and partings and greetings and new and old so that all of it is essential to the completion of the final goal and seen to be infinitely worth it at the end. In the story of this great war, which will carry on until our God’s final victory at the consummation of it all, there are many characters. Many soldiers, who come and go in the telling, but who each have their own unique roles in the fight.
And in that great story that encompasses and makes sense of every seemingly pointless, random event in this world, there is a chapter about a little island 3 miles off the coast of China. An island called Kinmen. The battle for human hearts has been waged here for thousands of years, and I believe with all my heart that the final, decisive victory is still to come. This front in the war has seen many warriors come and go. In this story, many characters have had to come and go in the telling…people who come from all sorts of backgrounds, all sorts of nationalities, with all sorts of personalities and gifts, but who have one thing in common – a love for our Savior King and for the people of this little island that some would call insignificant. But we know better. Because He’s chosen us to spend and be spent for these people, and we wouldn’t have it any other way. We all have had different roles in this story – some are Kinmen people whose hearts have been captured by the one true God and whose hearts break because for the most part, He isn’t acknowledged on their beloved island. Others are Americans, some of whom love Kinmen from afar because of the stories of those who have been there, and without whose prayers Kinmen may never be won for Jesus. And then there are those privileged ones who have been called to GO to this little island and be poured out as a drink offering for the sake of its joy in Jesus.
This is dedicated to my team members from last year who have been called away from Kinmen for a time. Whether you were in Kinmen for one year, two years, five years, or seven years; whether the Author of the story of your life ever calls you back to serve here again; no matter where you taught or who your friends were or what your burden was…your part in the great story of Kinmen being won for Jesus was, and remains, indispensable. Every role is indispensable. Because for a reason only He fully knows, He has chosen to use each of us to make His Name glorious. “In the Lord our work is NOT in vain” (1 Corinthians 15:58).
And this post is dedicated to the new team of 2011-2012, because your part in the story is just beginning. Because of you, I am even more convinced that Kinmen has a special place in our Father’s heart, because the people He calls to serve here are always special. Your enthusiasm for His kingdom, willingness to serve, and immediate love for this island bears witness to the fact that it is nothing less than HIS calling that has brought you here, and I feel incredibly privileged to see how He’s going to use you – US – to further His cause still more and push back the forces of darkness still farther.
Jarita, Raechel, Cami, and Bek ~ you are not forgotten. And whether or not you ever set foot on our precious island again, rest assured that nothing is in vain. By His grace, you’ve left a mark on Kinmen…and Kinmen has left its mark on you.
Eunice, Christina, Bethany, Peter, and Johnny – let’s see what our God has in store for us this year. What victories He will give us for His glory and for the sake of the people of Kinmen. If God is for us, then who could ever stop us; and if our God is with us, then what could stand against?
Another page is turned in the story…what elapsed on the pages that have already been turned will never be erased, and will make sense when we all get to the end. As for the pages that have yet to be turned…we don’t know what twists or turns or joys or sorrows they may hold, but we know who has written the story.
And that is enough.
“As for the saints in the land, they are the excellent ones, in whom is all my delight” (Psalm 16:3).
“At last the three companions turned away, and never again looking back they rode slowly homewards; and they spoke no word to one another until they came back to the Shire, but each had great comfort in his friends on the long grey road” (Return of the King).
“…we were torn away from you, brothers…in person not in heart…” (1 Thessalonians 2:17)
“We give thanks to God always for all of you, constantly mentioning you in our prayers, remembering before our God and Father your work of faith and labor of love and steadfastness of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Thessalonians 1:2-3).
Trusting the One who holds each thread of our lives and makes sense of them all,
Bethany
i swear that it's worth it
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