So, its Easter and that moves us all in different ways. Easter here on board is a really special time. There are things going on but not so much that you feel overwhelmed by it all. It is a pretty cool time where we really come together as a ship family. It will be memorable for me as well as I have learned something that will probably stick with me for a long time. I came across something in a teaching I listened to in the last couple days that has really hit me hard. In John 13 as the last supper is beginning we read this passage of scripture. It is the very familiar washing of the feet.
Jesus knew that the Father had put all things under his power and that He had come from God and was returning to God; SO he got up from the meal took off his outer clothing and wrapped a towel around his waist. After that he poured water into a basin and began to wash his disciples' feet....
In the passage of scripture, the contrast on either side of SO is what stands out to me now. In one verse, it talks about Jesus being from God and having all the power in the world. In the very next phrase, Jesus is preparing to wash his disciples' feet. These are the same disciples that in a few hours will betray him or deny him or abandon him and Jesus knew they were going to do that.
It says right there that Jesus had all things under his power. He could have used that power to lecture his disciples or any number of things or even change what was going to happen in the next 24 hours. But instead, we get to the SO in verse 4.
SO, he got up from the meal took off his outer clothing and wrapped a towel around his waist. After that he poured water into a basin and began to wash his disciples' feet....
After acknowledging that he had all power, scripture tells us he chose to wash their feet. Jesus had all the power and authority to do anything and what did he do with it? He served. He served those who were going to really let him down really bad and really soon.
One of the reasons we are here is that I get to be an accountant and be in this place and be involved in the great work Mercy Ships does. The team I work with in finance are amazing and I do get to play with spreadsheets a lot. (Yes that is a good thing). In my past jobs, I did the analysis and just handed it off to the decision makers. New to me here, is that I make just about every spending decision. I feel the weight of that responsibility often. This responsibility sometimes leads me to feel like I am just getting in the way of the work everyone is trying to achieve. Money is a limited resource and my role is to manage that resource here on board which means saying "No" sometimes. I feel like the bad guy in the midst of all these good people doing really good work. I know that my role is needed and I do enjoy being an accountant and a CPA, but sometimes I really just don't like the responsibilities that come with it. Sometimes I wish we had an endless supply of money that could be given out freely. Then I would get to say "Yes" all the time and not feel like a hindrance to all the amazing people I work alongside.
Sometimes God asks His followers to do things that are hard and the tasks themselves are not necessarily joy bringing. The joy will simply need to come from doing the task in obedience to the call. There are amazing things about being here. There is such joy in watching my girls grow up going to a hospital to hang out with patients and give them stickers as their after dinner activity. There is joy seeing the patients light up when our family enters the ward. There is joy in seeing my wife help save baby Alseny's life just because we were here at the same time as a baby who needed a mother's milk. There is joy in getting to play ultimate frisbee with an African sunset as the backdrop. There is joy working with my finance team. There is lots of joy to be found by being here and I get to receive that joy because of the calling God has given us. My role, which has tasks that may not always bring joy by themselves, is part of that call. Doing that job and taking the responsibility that comes with it, means I get to experience the joys I mentioned and so much more.
I missed a lot of joy in our first year because I was so focused on how hard things were. The joy is actually starting to be more evident because I am accepting that I must serve in order to receive the joy. Parts of my job are always going to be hard. But doing this job can bring joy because God has called me to do this job at this time in this place.
I will bet that Jesus got a lot of joy when he walked out of that tomb on Sunday morning, but prior to that he did hard things that were part of that call. Jesus took the power and authority that he had and still chose to serve. He served them that night by washing their feet and he served all of mankind the next day by laying down his life for all of us. After that, the joy came when he walked out of the tomb having conquered death and offering his children the ability to come unto him.
This Easter I have learned that joy comes from service and look forward to Easter Sunday now to celebrate the joy of getting to celebrate with the joy giver. The one who served and sacrificed before he conquered death, so I could experience the joy of life with Him here and in the age to come.
Fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith. For the joy set before him, he endured the cross, scorning its shame and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Hebrews 12:2
