Do You Love Me?

Hello faithful blog readers!

Encounter Two here, officially back in Ontario and doing ministry full time. We just had our last supervisor visit, right in Ottawa, and we took the weekend to reflect on the past year and offer thanksgiving for how God has been working in our lives. One thing I’ve realized is that I’ve had a difficult time really seeing the fruits of our ministry this year. It is common, being on a traveling team, to not see many fruits at all, since we are, as the cliché goes, “here today and gone tomorrow”. I was thinking about it though, and I was tempted to despair and started asking God, “What’s the point of this? Are we even making a difference? Is all our efforts to bring the Gospel across Canada even worth it?”

I took these questions to prayer this past weekend, and God gave me some insight. I was consoled by the knowledge that NET really does make a difference in the lives of so many, even when I cannot see it. I was filled with a deep trust that God knew what He was doing, and though He was keeping my eyes veiled to His glory, He was still using us to bring about His kingdom on earth. I also realized that at the core of all we do as missionaries should be a deep love for Jesus. While it’s amazing to be driven by a zeal for ministry and evangelization, it is even better to be driven by a love for Jesus (though often this is the fount from which the zeal for ministry flows). I was journaling about all this, and here’s what I pictured Jesus saying to me:

Keep your eyes focused on Me. As you look into My eyes, I ask you, “Do you love Me?” Is your answer yes? Good. Let it be your love for Me that fuels you through the remainder of the year. Don’t worry about the big picture, about whether it is making a difference or not. It is, but I don’t want to show that just yet. If you knew the difference you were making you would want to do this mission for that reason. But I don’t want that to be your reason. I want your love for Me to be your reason. You may not see the big picture, but just keep your gaze on Me, and I will do the rest. Do you love Me?

Signing out with eyes focused on Christ,

Katie Foster

Encounter Team Two

(Top photo - Julia, Colin, Eoin, Melissa, Matt Scott, Mariah, and Matthew Sullivan perform a skit on retreat; Bottom photo - Emily praying in Nackawic, NB)