N.T. Wright, in his book Surprised by Hope, makes a point about I Corinthians 15 that impacted me greatly while I was in Ethiopia. On Thursday I got to visit an orphanage with most of our group. It's the orphanage where many of the kids, including Shurabe, spent some time. We met a lady several monhts ago who got to take the same trip this past Spring. While at the orphange her heart was stolen by a little girl who was crippled and mostly blind. She held her much of the time and the girl just wouldn't let go. Our friend was also sad to find that, due to legal things, this girl can't be adopted. She asked that we take a care package to this little girl.

When I got there, I asked to be shown to the little girl. She was in a fairly small room with five or six other kids. She scooted around by using her arms to swing her body around the room. She wiggled her head around constantly, trying to be able see people. It seemed like she only had a very narrow line of sight.

I gave the gifts to her caretakers and scooped her up off of the ground. She was extremely scrawny. She wrapped her skinny arms and legs around me tight. I also realized that her diaper was about to burst - it was huge (but I wasn't about to be the spolied, foreigner who demanded that she be changed). She wiggled her head trying to see me and liked it when I said her name. So I squeezed her, bounced her, sang her name, tossed her up & down and played with her for about 30 or 45 minutes.

I Corinthians 15 gives us the hope of being resurrected; being given new bodies in the life that is to come. And it ends with this promise, "Therefore, my dear brothers, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain."

When I held this precious little girl, I was doing more than a good deed. I probably won't see her again in this life, but it was worth it, because, "Our labor in the Lord is not in vain." Somehow, someway, when we speak or act on behalf of our King, we are doing something that contributes to the Kingdom that is coming. I can't tell you how much that thought has impacted my thoughts. My time with this little girl was transformed from a good deed into a meaningful contribution to the Kingdom of God.

Some groups of Christians feel like it's more important to feed the poor than it is to tell them about Christ. Other groups of Christians believe that it's a waste of time if we are doing anything other than explaing how to be saved. But maybe God doesn't see it as doing versus preaching. Maybe he sees our lives as being devoted to His work or not. As I was sharing this with Kenneth, he said, "I wonder how many things we Christians divide that God never intended to be separated."

I write all of this to encourage you. When two of my friends passed out water bottles to strangers on a hot day, it was not in vain. When another friend led revivals in the Philippines during that same week, it was not in vain. And when you care for someone in the name of Jesus, it's not in vain. When you share your love for Jesus at a coffee shop, it's not in vain. When you volunteer at the shelter, or invite the neighbor kid over for dinner, or give your marriage all you have... it's not in vain. It aligns with God's purposes. It helps your heart and this world become a step closer to what God has in mind, and to what one day will be.

May your actions and words be given fully to the work of the Lord.