August 15, 2024 Impact of Mission
Thursday, August 15, 2024
The Impact of Your Mission
But a Samaritan, as he traveled, came where the man was;
and when he saw him, he took pity on him.
He went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine.
Then he put the man on his own donkey, took him to an inn and took care of him.
(Luke 10:33-34, NIV)
We may never know the impact of simply fulfilling our mission, doing what God calls us to do in any given moment. Or it may be revealed years later. A friend shared this example in her own life:
A 21-year-old single parent with four children walked into the agency where I worked. She had given birth to her first child at age 15 and never worked. Yet, my counselors recognized how quickly this young woman caught on to new information.
They looked past her circumstances and saw potential. We bought her a business suit for interviews, and she landed her first job as a receptionist. After that, we lost contact.
Five years later, while heading to a meeting on the SMU campus, a professionally-attired woman approached me. The now 26-year old mother of four thanked me for opening the door to her first job. She was now married, employed as an administrative assistant to a Vice President at the college, and studying for her undergraduate degree. All because we furnished a business suit and someone saw potential.
Who knows which lives take a different course because we reached out with a helping hand, a word of encouragement, a touch of kindness, or a charitable contribution? Although we may never have a chance encounter to know the difference we make, we are still called each day to be the hands and feet of Christ. In doing so, we fulfill the purpose for which God created us.
Be still and Reflect: Given today’s story, how is God calling you to think and go about your day differently?
Pray: Lord Jesus, thank you for the example you set in seeking first the kingdom and serving others to help move it a little closer to reality every day with all who we encounter. Forgive me for judging or ignoring in order to move on with my agenda. Open my heart that I might see and hear and respond to the needs you place before me. May you be glorified in all I do this day, Amen.
By His Grace,
Gloria Ashby