Material For Sacrifice

Bon soir encore de Bouaké! Tous les choses sont vert et beaux ici; mais il fait plus humide que Korhogo. Good evening again from Bouaké! Everything is green and beautiful here, but it is more humid than Korhogo. (Guess it’s a tradeoff!)

Quick update, I am in Bouaké to bid a bittersweet farwell to a couple friends who are heading back to the States on Wednesday. Good to be together, though suffering a bit from an overly introspective mind today and a bad case of acid-reflux. Praise God that all days aren’t like that though.

Saturday I biked about 25 kilometers around town in Korhogo, in the hilly terrain – my legs are drained. Went to a baptism at one church and in the night (at my church) there was a big all-nighter dance party. That was awesome, though I left early and slept for 3 hours so I wouldn’t be dead at the 8am service. Sunday morning service was interesting and really beautiful with the way the church was decorated. Not sure why the sermon talked more about Pilate than about Jesus though, I was a bit frustrated with that lol.

So how am I doing this week? Hmmmm….

This week has been a bit of a struggle in dealing with cultural differences. Ivorians don’t know how to plan in advance, and it’s very frustrating for me sometimes. Also I don’t get how they think sometimes, why they say certain things that in Western culture would be really offensive.

God has been teaching me a lot lately, but especially pounding my heart with one word this week: altar. Take the things that I am struggling with and put them on the altar. And it’s a sacrifice, so it’s not going to be fun - sacrifice is meant to cost something. What sane Jew ever wanted to burn up his best lamb? In fact, because my life should be a living sacrifice, that implies continuity, not a one time deal. There will always need to be intentional surrender of things that I’d rather just hold onto. In Romans 12, people love to quote verse 2, “do not conform any longer to the patterns of this world. Then you will be able to test and approve his will.” Sweet! Standing out and not conforming sounds great…independent, so American! We love our independence, heck yeah…down with the world’s ways and up with Jesus’, we won’t conform! But what does it mean to “offer yourself as a living sacrifice” in verse 1? That part was included in the discerning his will clause too. Hmm, sounds like hard work (and it is)! It’s not an automatic response, I’ve got to actually make an intellectual, rational decision to surrender and obey.

But does it end there? No, thank God. We aren’t meant to be spiritual masochists, but humble servants. There is a reason for sacrifice, it’s not just there to make us give of ourselves – God has made promises too. Like giving us life to the fullest, mercy and grace, correctment, or wrath if we disown him. So my lesson is to sacrifice it all, and don’t keep some hidden hope that you’ll get your way in the end. Don’t sacrifice the lamb but keep a leg for yourself – give it all away – set the whole issue on the altar, or it’s not an acceptable sacrifice at all.

These lessons I’m getting lately have been inspired from the books of 1 and 2 Samuel, and Elizabeth Elliot’s, “Passion and Purity.”

Here’s a couple ways to pray for me this week if you wish:

Better understand when people speak French to me.

More patience, selflessness and a loving and humble demeanor towards people.

The right words to speak into people’s lives, and to work with Ivorians well.

To put it all on the altar, withholding nothing.

Here is a fun photo from lunch on easter, with my little siblings here: