Serving whole-heartedly

Today's thought is about making the most of your life, which amazingly ties in with yesterday's - Working for God and not for man.

One of the verses in my quiet time today was about a bloke called Bezalel. I have to admit I'd not heard of him before, but it turns out he's the chap who built the Ark. So a pretty important dude if you ask me! He was a sculpture, and 'made everything the Lord had commanded Moses' Exodus 38:22. He accomplished great things, and worked as part of a team, he was filled with the Spirit of God. There are many talented people out there in the world who don't have the Spirit of God, but how much greater would they be if they were? 'Hearts touched and lives changed.' Bezalel's key to success was his heart for God.

Mark 8:14-9:1 Is about taking up our daily cross, abandoning life into the service of God. 'Whoever loses their life for me and for the gospel will save it.'

A few years ago when I finished medical school, I went to Soroti, Uganda with a friends charity, TESS, (Teso Education Support Services). This charity finds sponsors in the rich world for the poorest secondary school aged kids in Soroti's surrounding area. The sponsorship money of these kids pays their school fees, to enable education and therefore a better future for them. Any extra money is spent on things they need like blankets, uniform, exercise and text books, medical care if they fall ill. Once a year a 'retreat' or get together of these sponsored children occurs. They learn life skills like how to earn money from a small business, how to make mud ovens, which last longer than burning expensive and hard to get charcoal/wood,they go to seminars teaching them about various life topics, which they don't get at school. The leaders of the charity take a team out every 6 months to visit the kids and ensure they are OK, and to take letters from their sponsors to each individual child.

When I was there, I helped by seeing each sponsored child (there were about 250 at the time) and ensuring they were healthy. It was my first outing as a real doctor (as I had passed medical school only a few weeks before!) I saw simple problems like malaria, typhoid, and pneumonias. I also saw the complicated - stuff I'd read only one or two sentences on in med school because they were so rare like Eisenmenger's Syndrome, and pituitary tumours. By the spirit and grace of God I was able to help even the sickest of the children by referring them to the big government hospital for specialist help.

Margaret, the leader of TESS, who took us out to visit the kids spoke to each group of sponsored kids patiently and kindly. Her purpose on this visit was to encourage the kids in striving for achievement in what they were really good at. Unfortunately in Uganda and many other African nations, when the children get to secondary school age they are pushed towards taking science subjects either by the teachers or parents since science jobs are where the money is. Not all are good at sciences. Margaret told them the parable of the talents. Using the gifts God has given you for his good. For some that was carpentry, metalwork, cooking, the arts, humanities, and not sciences.

God gives each of us different gifts, it tends to be the things we enjoy in life, and are 'naturally good at.' It does no good for me to lament I'm no good at languages when I have gifts of being a surgeon. I should make the most of my life, give it all back to God. With the help of others (who are good at building things!) I can create a hospital in Africa and heal the disabled. I don't need to be fluent in the local language (although it would help), I only need to be fluent in my practical skills as a surgeon to heal them. Bezalel had a team of people helping him, so the things he wasn't so good at could be done by someone who did have that particular skill.

2 lines from the song Your love never fails:
You stay the same through the ages
Your love never changes

God was faithful to Bezalel in his skills, he will be faithful to us.