For years, I had the privilege of working with, and our son had the privilege of playing for, a championship football team at our local high school. They had been almost an automatic win for the other team until the new coaching staff took over. And in one season, they turned those boys from losers to champions. But as good as they were, the coaches never scored a single point in a single game. The game ultimately had to be won or lost by the players on the field.
I got to laugh at some of those drug commercials on TV. They'll spend about 20 seconds telling you all the wonderful things their product will do for you, and the other 40 seconds telling you all the awful things it could do to you. First, "you'll feel so much better," then, "may cause hair to fall out, teeth to decay, or a lung to collapse; side effects may include hearing loss, brittle bones, nervous breakdown, or sudden death." They don't want to tell you that stuff; they have to tell you. It's a truth-in-advertising law.
I think I saw that painting when I started going to Sunday School as a little boy. It's Jesus, standing in a garden, knocking on this big oak door. Actually the first people to see what became that famous painting were the friends of the painter, Holman Hunt. He reportedly gathered them together to unveil his masterpiece, and he got plenty of "oohs" and "ahhs" from his friends - except for one. That friend said, "I like the painting, but I think you made a mistake that you may want to correct. You forgot the handle on the door." To which the artist smiled and replied, "Oh, that's not a mistake. See, when Jesus knocks on the door of our hearts, the handle is on the inside."
You either went on a missions trip in recent months or you probably know someone who did. I've heard the testimonies of people as they return, and they're just like glowing. When you're on a missions trip, prayer seems more powerful, the Bible seems more alive, people get closer, God seems more real and powerful, and you feel more fulfilled because you've done something eternally important. God's used you to actually change some lives! No doubt, a missions trip is like a "Kodak moment" in your spiritual life. So if it's that powerful, why not make your life a year-round missions trip?
When we took our Sunday afternoon drives into the country, I usually had a plan in mind, but I didn't always tell my three kids. I just called it a mystery trip. Well, that didn't cut it with our oldest son. Here came the interrogation: "Daddy, where are we going?" Followed by lots more questions about what we'd eat, how long would we be gone, what was there to do? Finally, I just looked in the rear view mirror, I smiled and answered with two little words, "Trust me."
