Going for a walk

Just before Thanksgiving (which we are actaully celebrating this weekend as ‘Thanksmas’ with other Americans and such) we were once again blessed to attend the Euro American Retreat in Rothenburg op der Tauber, Germany. This retreat has been going for more than 50 years and was originally attended mostly by military members in Europe. From the beginning they wanted to make it also a time of refreshing for and learning from missionaries in Europe. We have been able to attend because of gracious gifts from church members in the US and in Europe.

This weekend is a great time to meet up with others who are working in the kingdom around Europe, to share ideas and struggles, to be fed with challenging lessons from the Word. It is also a time to sing and share. I am always amazed and blessed by the giving, sharing spirit of those who come to this retreat. The intimate, quaint walled city and inevitable beautiful weather (whether it be snow or Autumn sunshine) are all simply settings for the conversations and thoughts which take place here.

The weekend of Thanksgiving, we were in Antwerp to share once again with some of the same people about missional outreach. How can we, where we are, be more intentional in how we are reaching people? Are there things we need to be doing differently? These were some of the same questions we had struggled with in Germany. 

One of the things which has remained with me was the realization presented by an illustration: we cannot keep pouring the goodness of God out of our cup into that of others. We must ourselves be filled to overflowing, thus allowing God’s blessings to overflow to others. If I am not myself being filled with the Spirit, how will He be able to use me to bless others?

Another moment of clarity came with the discussion about how religious language often is already too foreign for modern ears. That doesn’t mean we do not present the truths of Jesus Christ in our daily language. It means that we may first speak about ‘the teacher’ or ‘our support group’ or how ‘I read...’.

Each week I go walking. I walk with a man who needs to talk and wants to get healthier. I walk and listen and sometimes say a bit. This is what I observed was being done with me these last weeks as well. Isn’t it beautiful to know that God – from the beginning – talks of walking with us. He walked in the garden. And we can walk in the light, as He is in the light.

But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin. 1 John 1:7