The Three Lepers

Roger and I had an amazing time in Central Asia, even though it was only 3 days. During our time in Bishkek, we got to spend alot of time with the Post family who have been living there as missionaries for about 8 years. They are an amazing family who blessed us so much with their lives and their hospitality! I was so humbled to see how they have chosen to live such humble, simple, sweet lives for the Kyrgyz people.
There was a conference planned there in honor of Pastor Matti's visit, so people from Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan were there. We had a women's meeting on Saturday afternoon at one of the ladies' houses. We ate, and sang, and shared together. It was really a wonderful time to be able to get to know these incredible believer's! I shared a little of my own testimony about how I knew that I wanted to be a missionary (not just b/c my parents were). I used the story of the 3 lepers in II Kings 7 to illustrate the way I think God wants us to view life. The 3 lepers were outcasts from the city, living outside the walls waiting to die from either starvation or disease. There was an army that had attacked the city and put it under siege. So the 3 lepers thought "why should we sit here until we die?" Their only possibility for life was to go surrender to the army and hope they would have mercy on them. To the naked eye, this seems like a suicidal thought, but really, if you think about it, it was the ONLY logical thought. I feel the same way about walking by faith. If we choose to live our lives for ourselves, we are just waiting to die, with no real ETERNAL and lasting purpose in our lives, each day void of meaning. It may seem like its the easier, less dangerous option - but in reality, its foolishness not to give all we have for God! We can sit quietly and safely and never present ourselves as available to God, but what joy is there in that? What eternal reward is there? I cannot imagine a sweeter sound than to hear God say at the end of my life, "Well done, My good and faithful servant."