Never forget

All we know are beginnings and ends, starts and finishes—point A to point B.

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Building houses in the Philippines began with my training June 2 and ended a debriefing Aug. 4. As this summer mission has ended, it would be so simple and human for this experience in the Philippines to end. This idea is engrained in our very human nature, right?

The apostle Paul knew much about human nature. In Galatians, he tells that group of believers: “But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh. For the flesh sets its desire against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; for these are in opposition to one another, so that you may not do the things that you please.” (Galatians 5:16-17)

Applying this passage to our lives, we must fight against every part of the flesh that goes contrary to the will and word of God. One thing we must fight is our forgetfulness. As I read through the book of Exodus, I was taken back by how many times the Lord repeated himself. Every ritual and sacrifice had meaning. From Passover to the Feat of Unleavened bread, each was given so the people would not forget what God had done. Exodus 20:2 says, “I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery. You shall have no other gods before me.”

“Then he took the Book of the Covenant and read it to the people. They responded, ‘We will do everything the Lord has said; we will obey.’” (Exodus 24:7)  Yet only 12 chapters later, we find these very same people building for themselves a golden calf to worship. How easily do we forget what God has delivered us from.

This summer, the Lord delivered me from some chains of my own. While at my university, I now have a deeper desire to dig into the Scriptures and to be mentored by a college minister . I want to learn to live out this love Jesus speaks of, a love by which people will know we are followers of Jesus Christ, not just nice people. I want to grow into being a man after God's own heart, not just to be classified as a “college student.” Receiving a diploma does not magically make you a man or woman.

May I never forget what I have learned and been taught by God. He has allowed this mission to change my life—not in a crying, tear-jerking emotional way, but at the very core of my being. This chapter of my life is part of the never-ending relationship I have with God. May we learn from the past, and never forget what God has done in our own lives. May we not live for the dot of this life, but for the arrow of eternity.

Dan Black, a student at the University of Mary Hardin-Baylor, served this summer with a Nehemiah Team in the Philippines, in association with Habitat for Humanity.


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