Traffic was heavy as usual. It is Chicago afterall, so why I found my self surprised is beyond me. I made my way into the loop of O’hare Int. airport and mindlessly drummed along on my steering wheel to the song on the radio. 4 years-it had been four years since we had seen each other. I had no idea what to expect, that is until I pulled up to terminal 3E and realized that my expectations were far too low.
Matt and I initially did not hit it off. The week we spent together in Guatemala was a week of distance and awkwardness. It was only on the last day of the trip that we connected, which left me with a difficult good-bye. Over the years we have tried to stay in touch despite the chaos that life brings. Yet, finally we meet and as I pulled up and saw him standing there I knew that God’s family is so much closer than I think. The bond that we have as a body of Christ is unique and unbreakable.
Laredo’s was the destination of choice for the few short hours we would have together. And in the dim lighting of a hole in the wall mexican restaurant I was challenged by Matt’s authenticity, compassion, and love for the Lord. Within a few hours we tried to catch up on all of life that had occured in the prior 4 years. It was nice to be updated on how he is doing but the thing that I walk away with the most are the three challenges that he made to me before we returned to the airport…
1. Don’t get stuck in the “Christian” world- when your friends are believers, you work with believers, you play sports with believers, you live with believers- you can easily lose sight of the rest of the world. You lose sight of God’s heart to seek and save those that are lost. The challenge: Don’t lose sight-not everyone knows the Lord.
2. Remember that the Body of Christ is worldwide- sometimes our surroundings and current life circumstances limit our vision. We get so obsessed with the small little “world” that we live in, and we forget that the body of Christ is not just us here in this town, its not even just America. It is the believes millions of miles away as well. My compassion and desire to further strengthen the body of Christ should include a concern for my brothers and sisters around the world.
3. Don’t go in thinking you have the answers, go in asking the questions. Often in ministry, we enter a city and have all of these lofy ideas of the great things we will do and how it will change so many lives. We have programs and activities in mind. In reality, it is not uncommon for these plans to be a flop- why? Because we are not attempting to meet people at their real place of need. Maybe there are alot of single moms in that town? maybe there is a high suicide rate? Maybe there is not affordable housing? We need to stop assuming we know what people need and start asking them what they need. Then we as the Church can most practically show them God’s love.
After good food and conversation, we returned to terminal 3E. It was a short reunion of friends but as we embraced that final moment my heart was reminded so much of the truth that Matt had spoken. God is so large. At that moment, we were in the same place-standing in the terminal-busy travelers rushing by-all headed to different places. In a few short minutes we would be headed different directions-each with challenges, each with the desire to see this beautiful bride become what God desires it to be in every corner of the world.
