Heart of
by Karen Unternahrer
Missi ns
A Different Perspective
Mike and Karen Unternahrer have
completed two trimesters at Instituto
de Lengua Española in Costa Rica and
just recently moved to the Dominican
Republic to begin a three-year mission
assignment with Students International;
see www.unternahrers.blogspot.com.
Saying goodbye to dear friends and
leaving behind what we’ve come to call
home is never easy, as guest writer Lauren Sauder concurs. She and her husband,
Steve, are serving with Growing Entrepreneurs International in Thailand. The
aim of this organization is to lead young
professionals or college graduates with
business degrees onto the mission field;
an opportunity for people who know and
love business to use that for the glory
of God among the nations. This recent
movement is called “business as mission”
and establishes for-profit businesses,
hiring nationals, and doing life-on-life
ministry in this context.
Lauren writes: 1 Samuel 15:22 says,
“to obey is better than sacrifice.” What
does that mean? And why is obedience better? Doesn’t God love sacrifice?
Doesn’t He call us to live sacrificially?
I know what sacrifice is. Steve’s
grandpa tells us his desire is that we take
over the farm. My grandpa shakes his
head, telling me in his low, gentle voice,
“Lauren ... I miss you every day. Don’t
go.” My newborn niece won’t recognize
her Auntie Lauren and Uncle Steven.
Our friends are having babies and buying houses; we won’t be expanding our
family for quite some time and we may
never have a house of our own. We had
to raise support for everything -- income,
insurance, housing, food, transportation,
clothing – and leave our comfortable jobs.
Thailand is half way around the world
from family, friends, comforts, all that I
love; overwhelming sacrifice.
What do you mean, God? How can
obedience really be better than sacrifice?
Don’t my sacrifices mean anything? Then
it hit me! Sacrifice is all about me. Obedience is all about God. Sacrifice is giving
myself glory. Obedience is giving all glory
to God. Maybe that’s why God desires
obedience over sacrifice.
When God called Abraham to a life of
sacrifice (Genesis 12-25), he radically and
whole-heartedly obeyed. Abraham knew
it wasn’t about him, but all about serving
and following God.
I’m learning to ask God to change my
way of thinking, to know it’s not about
the sacrifices. I’m learning that it’s as
simple as obeying the Word of God and
going where I know He has called me to
go. I’m learning to see my self-righteous
and self-indulgent attitude as deep sin,
asking for forgiveness.
I love Lauren’s transparency, allowing her readers a glimpse into the process
as God led her into a new understanding
of sacrifice and obedience. Romans 12:1
speaks of offering ourselves to God as living sacrifices. The verse directly following
that reminds us we are to be transformed
by the renewing of our minds. Regardless of the issue, whether living in Latin
America, Thailand, or LaGrange County,
we are to allow God to transform and
renew our minds. Only He can.
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The Hometown Treasure · May ‘12 · pg 21