As we have continued to work with Rescue1
this week, God keeps opening our eyes and transforming our hearts to look more
like His. Since we are going to the same motels every week, our team has been
able to develop some deeper relationships with people who live there. Four
girls on our team have gotten to know “A” and now spend time talking with her
and praying with her every time we go out. Kathy and I have also developed a
friendship with a woman at one of the motels and we continue to have good
conversations and spend time prayer each week.
As the weeks have progressed, we have been
able to develop these relationships by meeting physical needs like providing
meals and clothing for those in need. However, these things alone are a means
to an end without the gospel. The gospel is the end goal. Serving is just the
bridge to getting to the gospel. That’s how Jesus did ministry. He healed
people and he feed them, and then he spent time teaching them about the truth, His
truth. Since Jesus did that, we should do too. We meet physical needs to get to
the spiritual needs of people. After we offer physical loaves of bread, we need
to offer the bread of life, Jesus.
Our lives should not inform us of how much
Jesus is a part of us. He is not “a part” of us; Jesus is our life. Our
relationship with Christ should inform us of how we are to live our lives. We
all need rescue from eternal suffering as well as restoration for spiritual
freedom. Here’s how we are to relate the ministry of Rescue1 back to Jesus:
Christ informed:
- those endangered
- those who thought they were saved
Christ served:
- physical needs, touched and loved, went to sinners, spent time with
people
Christ solved:
- Calvary, offered a solution, was the solution, was selfless
Rescue1 informs:
- the community (prevention)
- the Church (action/rescue)
- the vulnerable (restoration)
Rescue1 serves: His people à everyone: least of
these through love: food, prayer, physical needs, building
relationships
Rescue1 solves:
- the Gospel which leads to: cleansing, purifying, healing, restoration
- Jobs, protection
- Reintegration into society: housing, specialized counseling, legal
issues, long-term and emergency services: facilities, homes –
find people who have an open home, no kids, no restrictions, where they can
take victims in.
At the end
of the day it all goes back to the gospel and what Christ did. As we continue
to serve and build relationships with people through Last Call 4 Grace in Rescue 1 hopes to begin the same type of ministry up here in Nashville.
It has been
a life changing experience to see the physical and spiritual needs of people
here. We can no longer say we didn’t know. And because of that we cannot return
back to our normal lives after this summer. God may not lead us all to work
with trafficking victims, but we must always live our lives with Christ at the
center, wherever he may call us. God does not want sacrifice, he wants
obedience. He already sacrificed Himself for us. As we are obedient to God, our
love becomes sacrificial like His.
“This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers. If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need but has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in him? Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth.” – 1 John 3:16-18
