MRS. WHITE’S COMMITMENT

Her name was Mrs. White, and she spoke passionately about her work among the desperate and poor in India. Retiring after a lifetime of service, she had a million stories to share. She showed some slides, read from scriptures, told some stories, and touched a lot of hearts. The speaking tour was a kind of valedictory , one last opportunity to spread the news and to raise consciousness about the amazing work of the church going on halfway around the world.

Many in the congregation that evening were inspired. They wrote checks, gathered information, renewed their personal enthusiasm for missions, and added the important legacy of the retired missionary to their ongoing commitment  in prayer. Some even felt led by the Holy Spirit to consider a calling to work overseas.

“Mrs. White,” one man said as he stood up during question time, ”you must love India very deeply. I’m sure you’re going to miss that part of the world now that you have returned to the United States. I know it’s going to be very hard for you.”

“Not at all,” she smiled ruefully. “I hated every minute of it. It is the filthiest, most corrupt place I have ever seen. The people I worked with were disease-ridden and desperate. The conditions were deplorable. I lost my husband and one child to that terrible place. If I never go back there this side of eternity, it will be one day too soon.”

The silence in the church was deafening. The congregation was stunned, and the man who asked the question just stood there with his mouth hanging open. Everyone wondered if the wiry old lady with a kick in her attitude had maybe lost her mind.

“But,” she continued, after a theatrical pause, “for the sake of the love of Jesus I would go back there tomorrow.”

Tears rolled down the elderly missionary’s sun-wrinkled cheeks, and she gripped the sides of the podium tightly. Mrs. White fairly glowed with the radiance of devotion.

It wasn’t humanitarianism that drove her life’s work; it wasn’t the lure or romanticism of oversees service; and it wasn’t even a deep, abiding affection for the people she served that had ripened and matured over time. It was Jesus whom she loved and served. A deep, authentic love for God gave real teeth to Mrs. White’s commitment to be a disciple, and this love moved her from contemplation out into the world.

-- Derek Maul in “Get Real: A Spiritual Journey for Men”


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