Being a part of Adventist Frontier Missions ministry has opened my eyes to the untapped potential of Christianity, to the real power of a life infused all through with Jesus. Every project seeks to put a full Christianity package into the lives of the people. As missionaries it circles around relationships, connections with people. In North America the catch phrase is "building relationships". But for me this has kind of confused me sometimes, though until this last week I couldn't think of it. I've always felt sorry about being friends just so they become Adventist. I feel shallow in a way. I do want them to discover freedom in Jesus, to discover the end-time Advent message, but what? Well building the relationship, sounds like "hey we'll be friends until this building is done here, until you're good and baptized, then onto the next relationship construction project." But it is a whole process baptism is only the beginning! So much maturity to take place. So there is a missionary in India who was trying to communicate this building idea to his people group and they couldn't get it. Someone helped him out by saying that they thought of that relationship idea a little differently, which made a huge impact on me. A relationship is like when two separate rivers come together into one river. What a unique and practical illustration! These two lives come together, just inseparable. There is some salt to take with it, because there is wisdom to understanding how much to mix with someone, to influence versus being influenced, but God can direct when we are grounded in the word.
Anyway just thought this thought was worth thinking about!
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