Clearer Focus

One item I packed last-minute was a pair of binoculars. Flicking through the Gambia guide book again, I was reminded of some wildlife and birdlife that it’d be fun to spot. And the binoculars do what you’d hope: they help you see what is otherwise harder to see.

Similarly, as I look back on the process of packing up life here in the UK and preparing to move to the Gambia, I think it’s helped me see what is sometimes harder to see, though always there and true. Here are a few examples:

1. I’ve felt like a sojourner, though I always am

Not exactly a common word… But I couldn't think of a better synonym. Some Bible translations of 1 Peter speak of Christians as “sojourners and exiles” (1 Peter 2:11). We are just passing through; this world is not our home. Like our father Abraham we have been called by God to journey through life following Him by faith, looking ahead to a new home. And following our Saviour Jesus’ resurrection, what confidence we can have in this heavenly future that He has secured for us.

But one thing it means is that we are not at home here. And as I’ve packed up home in the UK and prepared to move to somewhere very different, that has come into clearer focus for me. I don’t really feel at home anywhere at the moment! And that’s an opportunity for me to remember what is always true - I’m a sojourner, an exile, just passing through, on my way to an incomparably glorious home in heaven.

2. I’ve felt weak, though I always am

Packing up is a big operation. Goodbyes are draining. Looking ahead to settling into and working in a very different culture is daunting. And the emotionally tumultuous experience has felt surprisingly rocky spiritually. End result = I have felt very weak! Really, of course, that is always true, just in clearer focus at the moment.

Thankfully, I’m in good company. The ‘great’ apostle Paul’s experience is monumentally encouraging: after pleading with the Lord to remove humiliating pain, God’s answer wasn’t to remove it but to teach him, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” So Paul concluded, “Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.” (2 Corinthians 12:8-10)

I am weak! And not ashamed of it. Because it shows that anything of any value or encouragement or use in or through me is all because of Christ’s power and strength. Phew.

3. Time has felt short, though it always is

It doesn’t feel long ago when the whole Gambia thing was a few years away, if at all. Now it’s this week! I’ve said many goodbyes to dear people whom I won’t see for at least another year, maybe three. That is sad! Time is short. And, again, the leaving process has brought that into clearer focus.

James gives us a reality check with his typical frankness:

“You do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes.” (James 4:14)

Humbling, but so helpful. I’m thankful for more time in recent weeks spent with family, enjoying God’s creation, laughing with godchildren, praying with friends and speaking words of encouragement to each other. How easily we can drift through hours or days or months forgetting what is precious and important.

One of the most stirring missionary biographies you can read is that of C.T. Studd, Cricketer and Pioneer by Norman Grubb. Get it. He coined a moving poem as he left his life of fame and aristocracy to take the gospel to inland China (we just don’t compare these days...) called “Only One Life”. The refrain is simply:

“Only one life, ’twill soon be past,
Only what’s done for Christ will last.”

Amen, C.T.  Thanks for the clearer focus.