Who Is Taking Care Of Your Soul?
In 2000, I had the opportunity to work on a Master's Degree from Wheaton College, in the United States, through a scholarship for missionaries. One of the first classes that I took was a required course and I was not sure if it was going to be applicable to my degree in Christian Education. It was called, "The History of the Care of Souls." The professor was somewhat old and basically lectured the entire time. During each class, he referred to at least 10 additional books that had to do with the subject matter. I remember one of the students asking him about the books that he was mentioning in his lectures. We came to find out the most of the books were out of print and that the professor had a photographic memory. He also read one book each day! During this course, we never had a test or a quiz on the material. However, we did read lots of old articles and books! The only assignment in this course was a 20 page paper on how "Soul Care" was going to impact my service with Mercy Ships; it was due on the last day of the class. At this point, I was still uncertain how this class was relevant to working in the Academy. The day that we were to turn our only assignment in for the class, the professor asked the students what they had learned during the past few months. As the professor called on a few students, I tried to think about if I had learned anything. I was not listening to the other students at all and then the professor called on me! At that moment, my mind went blank as I stood up to respond to the question. I started to speak and as I listened to my response, I then realized that indeed I had learned something important that would impact how I serve within Mercy Ships. This is what I learned: If I do not take time to spend with God, then I do not have anything to give to the teachers, parents, and students that I work with. If I do not focus on my relationship with Jesus, then I will not be prepared to minister to others when the opportunity comes. Do I love God with all my heart, my soul, my strength? I want to, but how does that happen and what does that look like for me as I serve with Mercy Ships? What I thought was a useless course during my studies, ended up being the most important content that I needed in order to serve better within Mercy Ships. So, are you taking the time to focus on your relationship with Jesus?