Challenging Verse: Luke 10:2
“And he said to them, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few. Therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.”
Why is this verse difficult? Luke 10:2 is about the mission field and serving; those with mental illness can’t see how they are a part of God’s mission. God loves us so much that He wants to include us in His plan - missions. God doesn’t need us for His plan, but we need God. We foolishly think He needs us, but His plan will happen with or without us. How do the mentally ill participate in missions? God calls us all to be in His mission. Some are called to support missions through financial gifts. All are called to pray for missions. Some are even called to live on missions, whether in their neighborhood, nationally or globally.
The Great Commision (Mathew 28:16-20) is not qualified, because all Christians are called to participate and to share with all people. Not just the healthy, but also the marginalized. Throughout Jesus’ ministry, He reached out to the outcast of society. The New Testament is full of images of Jesus stopping whatever He was doing to serve these insignificant individuals. In Mark, He stops to serve the woman with the bleeding condition. He calls her daughter in a loving, compassionate, fatherly manner. His disciples were trying to push Him along to Jairus, a synagogue leader, because his daughter was gravely ill. Foolishly, his disciples didn’t understand that Jesus had all power over death. Jesus made time for the bleeding woman. We should show such compassion in missions.
In John 9, Jesus explains to His disciples that the blind man was made to glorify God! God is always calling the outcast to be a part of His mission. The world wants the best of the best. God has a much different plan. He called Moses to liberate His people. Moses even questioned God’s wisdom. David was called to defeat the giant Goliath. David was a small, lowly shepherd boy. When Jesus came to dwell among us, He was not born into a royal family but a carpenter’s family. He came not to be served, but to serve. The mentally ill need to be served, but they can also be equipped to serve. Mentally ill Christians can serve if the church community serves through them. Remember, the Great Commission is for all to participate and all to receive.
I have been living on mission since 2010. How can someone with bipolar and asperger serve on short mission trips? Obeying God’s calling, and being encouraged and equipped by my church community. This is one reason a church community needs to be a place of belonging, not inclusion. I belong in my church family. We bear each others’ burdens, whether mentally ill or healthy. We can be part of the few laborers, because He loves us and wants us to be in His plan. We don’t qualify who is called or sent - God qualifies His laborers and where they serve. God calls us all to pray. He calls others to support.
Today is World Refugee Day. I never thought I would serve refugees, but God’s plans are not of my mind. July 1st, I travel with my sister, my nieces, and Kerri to serve Ukrainian refugees who are disabled orphans at Dominikus Ringeisen Werk in Usrberg, Germany. They are receiving amazing care under the direction of Zorina. Also, we will visit with the WOF Families for a fun day at a park. Please pray for all the displaced Ukrainian refugees and others who are fleeing. There are 103 million refugees worldwide. Children make up 36.5 million refugees and 1.5 million children are born into families that fled. Seven in ten refugees are fleeing just five countries: Syria, Venezuela, Ukraine, Afghanistan, and South Sudan. Most are hosted in Turkey, Columbia, Germany, Pakistan, and Uganda.
It is my calling and my delight to serve on missions. Thank you to all who have encouraged, equipped, and supported me to follow God’s calling on my life.
Data: UN Refugee Agency 2020