Is it “surprising” that Teresa and her family, living in Denver, Colorado, would invest each month in the life of Phionah, a young girl from Rwanda?
Why would Teresa and her family do that? What do they have to gain in that type of relationship? According to our faith, they have a lot to gain!
Most people are living for this life, instead of looking beyond. They are often surprised when they encounter someone who looks at life with an eternal perspective.
The Apostle Peter refers to this type of reaction from those who do not follow Jesus. He writes, “They are surprised that you do not join them in their reckless, wild living, and they heap abuse on you” (1 Peter 4:4).
The world is surprised by our values. I remember sharing my story on a plane with a stranger. I told him that I realized, as I stood in a cemetery one day, that the only thing that ultimately matters in life is what we do in alignment with God’s purpose for our life.
On that defining day in the cemetery, I felt compelled to pray. I dedicated my future to God and decided to change my college major from business to ministry. My fellow passenger on the plane listened patiently as I talked about deciding to live my life with eternal values in mind.
Then he said, somewhat condescendingly, “You are obviously in the right line of work.” It seemed like he was talking to me like someone would talk to their young child about an unrealistic dream they had. Like a father laughing inside as he outwardly affirmed his daughter’s unrealistic dream to marry a prince and live in a castle one day!
It is helpful for those of us who have been embraced by Jesus to remember that others don’t see the world the same way we do. We don’t share the same values. We need to listen to others, to love them, to manifest our faith by our works, and to always graciously remember that we see things from a different perspective.
As John Calvin once wrote, followers of Jesus see life through spectacles of faith. One lens is the Holy Spirit, and other lens is Scripture. When we look through those lenses, every aspect of life looks different.
This is one of the things I love about the Kugaba Initiative. It is a practical way to reach around the world and to make a
lasting spiritual investment in the life of one of God’s children. When we invest in a Rwandan child with eyes of faith, we know that we are making a deep impact. From a human perspective, without eyes of faith, one may wonder, “Why do you care about what happens to a family in Rwanda?”
We believe that each one of our 750 students and 80 staff members in Rwanda are image-bearers of God. They have been placed where they are for a Divine purpose. It is an honor to serve alongside them to provide practical help and encouragement along the way as they discover and fulfill that purpose—that’s good stuff!
Every pleasure of this world is merely a foretaste of our eternal home. Enjoy the gifts and delights of this world appropriately, steward them well for God’s glory, but never forget that our final sunset will usher in an eternity with God that we can only imagine. On that day, I want to be able to celebrate eternal returns from the investments I am making today! “Amen. Come, Lord Jesus” (Revelation 22:20).