One of the functions my role at Vapor Ministries involves is stakeholder development. I help connect people with our mission, which plays out in poverty stricken environments, in ways that Meet Needs & Feed Souls. With that I live squarely between two very different worlds. Often I have sat in a rickety tin shanty, holding the undernourished child of a destitute mother, on a Monday only to be hosted in a well furnished home, discussing the endeavors of an established entrepreneur, by Wednesday.
With modern advancements the distance between third-world environments and first-world settings have substantially closed and yet, at times, it seems the chasm is larger than ever. It is heavy to feel the weight two parties carry, see how they could enrich each-other, but with so much on the line fail to make the connect. Bringing the two together in healthy and impactful ways is the job of an advocate and yet my inadequacies complicate the already difficult task.
While being positioned between the two worlds can be deeply unsettling, for every discouraging encounter there comes an entirely liberating one. One in which, it seems a different force is at work. Two groups aren’t trying to adjoin alone, a third superior presence is forging a meaningful union. In times like these amazing breakthroughs occur as strangers are moved to lay their lives down to serve each other. Oh the wonder of the moment! When an other worldly love pours into the open hearts of yielded people who in turn make room for those in need. My soul is deeply stirred when Worlds are brought together as heaven settles on earth.
Yes, part of my role is to “close the gap,” to function as a bridge between radically different places that desperately need each other. But I have come to realize it is futile to pursue a heavenly call in the effort man can produce. Instead, I along with all of God’s children, am invited to pursue the good of man and glory of Christ in a strength much greater than that produced by man. This greater power comes from Only God.
John 6:7&11 “Philip replied, ‘Even if we worked for months, we wouldn't have enough money to feed them!’... Then Jesus took the loaves, gave thanks to God, and distributed them to the people. Afterward he did the same with the fish. And they all ate as much as they wanted.”
Deuteronomy 8:17-18a "Be careful not to say, 'My own ability and skill have gotten me this wealth.’ You must remember the LORD your God, for He is the one who gives ability to get wealth…"
I John 3:16-17 “We know what real love is because Jesus gave up his life for us. So we also ought to give up our lives for our brothers and sisters. If someone has enough money to live well and sees a brother or sister in need but shows no compassion—how can God's love be in that person?”
- Micah McElveen