A couple of weeks ago, some friends and I were reminiscing about being on a mission trip. We talked about how while we were on the trip we were so passionate about seeing the lives of people changed. We had a huge amount of compassion for the people we were ministering to. We have all found that it is easy to come home and not have the same attitude. You just return to your daily life and tend not to focus all you can on other people and what you can do for them. Rather than compassion, you tend to have impatience when it comes to dealing with other people. You stop thinking about the situation they might be in and only think about how it is affecting you.
Philippians 2:4 tells us, “do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others.” It is so easy to forget about this. Every day is an opportunity to be on the mission field. We may not be in a foreign country or another city somewhere else in the USA, but that doesn’t mean we can’t have an impact on the people around us. We all have people in our life that need our love. Maybe they need food or shelter, or maybe it is someone who just needs a high-five. You don’t have to go on a big trip to move with compassion and see someone’s life changed.
What can you do to bring the mission field mentality to your every day life? Who do you know that has a need you can meet? Let’s move with compassion and see what amazing things happen.
until next time…