“Thank you for coming; you’ve sacrificed so much to be here,” a sweet-faced, old Chinese woman said to me. Thoughts scurried through my mind: “It isn’t hard here. I don’t have to live in the bush with hot and cold running snakes. I didn’t have to learn another language. I haven’t sacrificed at all!” But with a smile, I answered her, “I’m happy I can be here.” And I truly am!
Jesus promises blessing for those who follow him to new homes outside their cultures: “Mark my words, no one who sacrifices house, brothers, sisters, mother, father, children, land–whatever–because of me and the Message will lose out. They’ll get it all back, but multiplied many times in homes, brothers, sisters, mothers, children, and land–but also in troubles. And then the bonus of eternal life!” (Mark 10:29-30 MSG)
