Perspective: Missions is a Privilege not a Sacrifice

David Livingstone, Speech at Cambridge University on Having an Eternal Perspective and role as a missionary

“For my own part, I have never ceased to rejoice that God has appointed me to such an office.  People talk of the sacrifice I have made in spending so much of my life in Africa..Is that a sacrifice which brings its own blest reward in healthful activity, the consciousness of doing good, peace of mind, and a bright hope of a glorious destiny hereafter?  Away with the word in such a view, and with such a thought!  It is emphatically no sacrifice.  Say rather it is a privilege.  Anxiety, sickness, suffering or danger, now and then, with a foregoing of the common conveniences and charities of this life, may make us pause, and cause the spirit to waver, and the soul to sink; but let this only be for a moment.  All these are nothing when compared with the glory which shall be revealed in and for us.  I never made a sacrifice.”

How these words echo in my heart!  How they convict my soul.  How I long for this to be my perspective.  All too often I catch myself deflating my pride by thinking about things I’ve given up on the mission field.  I think about missing modern day conveniences like washing machines, fast food restaurants, high speed Internet, electricity 24/7.  Because the truth is-all of these things are fleeting. 

Those material things are nice to have but it is by far most difficult to be away from my family- knowing that we are missing huge milestones in each other’s lives-they are missing the baby learning how to walk, first days of school, I am missing graduations, new job offers, birth of my friends’ babies, and weddings.  And then there’s just the daily doing of life together-to be able to share in the joys of a great day, rejoicing over victories or venting about the bad ones-for these are the times when souls are knit together.…..It is hard to be away from dear friends back home who I could call without a moment’s hesitation for anything, those who know me inside and out.  When I dwell on these things I get discouraged, I lose my joy. Certainly I feel like I’ve made huge sacrifices. Some days more than others I feel this-when I lose my eternal perspective.   Yet, for all the things I have momentarily given up, the Lord has provided again and again in His unfailing love in His eternal riches.  He has provided friends who are like family here on the mission field (though they could never replace the ones back in America), He has bound my heart to them and they encourage and inspire me always-to spur me on in love and deed to the high calling of serving Jesus on the field.

The only thing that is eternal is building up the kingdom of God and the only way that happens is by being obedient to the Lord.  

Dear Jesus, may my mindset and my heart change it’s perspective to grow so much in love with You that I consider my life nothing that I may run the race that is set before me.  That I remember your suffering on the cross-how you gave up everything so a lost and dying world would have the hope of you.  Though my spirit may waver, though my flesh fails, though my soul  may sink-let these all be but for moment as I set my eyes on your eternal truth.  May my life shout “I never made a sacrifice”.