A curious piece of Paul's travel log attracted my attention. When he landed at Caesarea, he went up to Jerusalem and greeted the church and then went down to Antioch. After spending some time in Antioch, Paul set out from there and traveled from place to place throughout the region of Galatia and Phrygia, strengthening all the disciples (22-23).
What caught my attention was Paul's stop at his home base of Antioch. This was the church that first sent Paul and Barnabas out. It received his reports with joy and then sent him out again. Now Paul stops there again. It reminds me of missionaries who stop home on furlough. Missionaries stop home to give an update and be refreshed so they can head out again.
I find myself thinking about and praying for missionaries my family and my church support… Peter & Miriam, Jamie, Nicky, and Kevin. Most are in really tough lands where hostility abounds. When they stop 'home' we offer them a lifeline, a brief time of rest when their bodies can decompress and hopefully allow the stress to leak out of them before they return to the fray of ministry in a foreign land.
This role of refreshing those, whom God has called and sent, is a vital ministry and one often overlooked. Too often we put burdens on our returning missionaries beyond giving a report. Hmmm…
Lord God, I pray for my church and Your Church, that we would honor those called to cross-cultural mission work. Also, that we would pray for and support them and that we would give them space to revive when they are home. Too often I fear we make them work too hard when they are home rather than refresh them. Show me, Lord, if I am to do something about this. I pray in Jesus' name. Amen.
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