June 2016 - Page 2 of 2 - The Prodigal Pig

Me: Do you like that painting Prodigal?

Prodigal: I was just wondering where these people are from and what life must be like for them at their town.

Me: I think often of how we people all have different cultures but God still loves us all. Can I share another missionary story?

Prodigal: I have enjoyed the couple of ones that I have heard from you.

This is from Voices of the Faithful with Beth Moore and is from a worker in South Asia

We were at the last town of our journey and were contemplating going home a day early. Our trip had been harsh, and I honestly didn’t like the last town.

I was wearing some clean clothes, ones that I had hand-washed and let air-dry for days. Not five minutes of being in that town, a cement block came down from the top of a construction site and landed in a mud pit two feet from me. I was coated in mud but uninjured. When I found a bathroom to clean up, it was equipped with a communal washing barrel full of cold water. I laughed hysterically.

Leaving one day early seemed reasonable. We were supposed to meet with a Christian in this town, but we had an incorrect phone number. Before booking transport, I prayed, “Lord, if there is anything else that You would have us to do or anyone that You would have us meet, please show–“I had not even completed my prayer when a voice asked, “Are you a Christian?” Surprised, we turned to meet a young national named Suk (sook), a missionary from the people group we target who also was trying to spread the gospel!

He invited us to go with him to villages in the area. We were able to share Jesus with many. Suk also informed us of other villages closer to where we live. Without this believer, it would have taken much research to locate them.

God is at work. Any Christian with a willing heart can join Him.

At this point, it seems like nothing worked out at all with this project, but don’t worry God likes to save some of His best work toward the end. Keeping praying and wait for the Lord to show you that He was in control the whole time.

Do not fear, for I am with you; do not anxiously look about you, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, surely I will help you. Surely I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.

Isaiah 41:10

Jennifer Van Allen

www.theprodigalpig.com

www.faithincounseling.org

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Me: Prodigal, Thank you for inviting me over to you garden! It is really nice!

Prodigal: I am serious about my gardening, I am a farmer pig after all! I love to grow flowers and vegetables. Since you have been so caring to me, I wanted to give you some of these carrots.

Me: Thank you Prodigal, I know that this is a gift from the heart. I want to share about another gardener just like you.

Tim Chester shares this in his book You Can Change

The great nineteenth-century preacher Charles Spurgeon illustrates this point with the story of a humble gardener who presents a bunch of carrots to his king because he so esteems and loves his sovereign. The king rewards his love with a plot of land so he can continue to bless his kingdom. A courtier sees this and thinks, “An acre of land for a bunch of carrots–what a deal!” So the next day the courtier presents the king with a magnificent horse. The wise king, discerning his heart, simply accepts the gift with a “thank you.” When the courtier is disconsolate, the king explains, “The gardener gave me the carrots, but you have given yourself the horse. You gave not for love of me but for love of yourself in the hope of a reward.” Are you feeding the hungry or are you feeding yourself? asks Spurgeon. Are you clothing the naked or are you seeking your own reward? Are you serving God or serving yourself? The Bible talks often of reward, but that reward is God himself–the joy of knowing and pleasing the God we love and in whom we delight.

We don’t change so we can prove ourselves to God. We’re accepted by God so we can change. God gives us a new identity, and this new identity is the motive and basis for change.

Ephesians 5:1-2

Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children. And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.