Defining Success

We had a good mission trip last week to Belize, and as I shared Sunday, we are grateful for you sending us, and praying for us. It was great reconnecting with our extended church family we met on last year's trip, as well as meeting new friends. It's amazing the kindred spirit among people from completely different cultures who otherwise share so little in common--well, except that we are fellow brothers and sisters in Christ! We were blessed to be able to serve alongside them, to worship with them, to share the gospel through our Vacation Bible School, and to share blessings with those in need from the generous gifts of our church family back home. 

There were a few challenges--mostly of the insect variety. The mosquitoes were hungry, and the gnats quite persistent, and the ants were just flat out mean. And they were abundant too; there wasn't a day of the trip that I didn't have several of those "devil ants," as our Belizean friends called them, biting my ankles or hands--and I am sure everyone on the trip could say the same. 

I read this week that ecologists at the University of Hong Kong estimate that the total ant population of the world is 20 quadrillion-- that's 20 with 15 zeroes following it. That means that those tiny insects outnumber humans by 2 1/2 million to one! And I am not sure if that ratio isn't a little higher than that in the village of Concepcion in Belize. 

But all in all--even after the difficulties in getting home on Friday/Saturday--I would have to say it was a good trip. Someone asked me the other day if the trip was a "success." That can be a tough question to answer, especially as it relates to something like doing missions. How do you determine what success really is, especially doing mission work, and how do you know when you get there? It all depends on how you define success. 

Take David Brainerd, for example. He lived in the early 1800's, but only lived to be 29 years of age before he died. From all appearances, his life was anything but a success. He felt called to ministry, and went to Yale University to prepare. However, he got sick and had to drop out of school within the first year. When he finally was able to return to school there, he was expelled for excessive spiritual enthusiasm and being too zealous, and never finished college. Without having graduated, law forbade him from being licensed to ministry, and his dream of being the pastor of a church never came to fruition.

He often felt like a failure, and experienced long bouts of depression. He even contemplated suicide on several occasions. He was poor, never married, and his only published work was his own journal, which didn't get released until after he died of what was likely tuberculosis. If ever there was someone who wasn't a success, it was David Brainerd, right?.

What most people miss, however, is how Brainerd spent his life. When things didn't work out at school, and as a result he couldn't find a position as a pastor, he decided to do what he could with what he had, and pursued mission work, reaching out to the Delaware Indian tribe in New Jersey. He served them, loved them, clothed them, fed them, and shared Jesus with them, without fanfare or accolade.

And he wrote it about it all in his personal journal, which was published in book form after his death. That journal has been an inspiration and encouragement to thousands, including William Carey ("the father of modern missions") and Jim Elliott, among countless others. In fact, his journal is still being printed and sold today, nearly 300 years after he lived.

David Brainerd never knew how successful he was, but only that he was faithful. God used him, in his generation and in many generations to follow, because he did what he could with what he had and served the Lord by serving the least of these. That's all any of us can ever do if we want to find success in this life and the life to come.

May our lives be judged successful because we are faithful to the One who has been faithful to us, wherever He places us. I am thankful for each of you, and I look forward to seeing you on Sunday.

--Pastor Ken