‍And who knows whether you have not come to the kingdom for such a time as this? - Esther 4:14

In the spring of 1987, I was a junior in college.  Actually, let me rephrase that. In the spring of 1987, I was a totally cool junior in college. That sounds better. I worked for the university as a Resident Assistant, and a fellow R.A. on my staff, and a friend from Inter-Varsity Christian Fellowship was trying to convince me to take the summer and serve as a missionary in training in Kenya, East Africa. Having been raised Roman Catholic, where my idea of missions was a robe-garbed Franciscan monk evangelizing Native Americans in the American West, living a single life of austerity, the thought of going to Africa for a whole summer was tantamount to walking on the moon. The young lady who was trying to convince me had already spent a summer there, and she had a connection with a pastor who was willing to put me up for the summer and even help me raise the funds to go. My answer (after about two days of thought and zero prayer) was “thanks, but no thanks.” I am pretty sure I made it sound more spiritual than that, but I had no desire to go.

Have you ever wished you could have a time in your life back again?  What a missed opportunity. My mother used to quote an old Scottish proverb to me and my siblings on a regular basis: “If wishes were horses, beggars would ride.” In other words, wishes are just that, wishes. We cannot change the past, try as we might. Who knows, maybe if I had gone to Kenya that summer, I would have been bitten by a Black Mamba and died (there’s a pleasant thought). It is a comforting thought that God had other plans for me and was saving me from some unforeseen tragedy had I gone. I doubt that, however. I think I just missed a unique opportunity to grow in my faith and serve outside of my comfort zone. There is no going back, but I sure wish that hip, young college student had been thinking like this, not so hip fifty-nine-year-old pastor today—I would jump at the opportunity. As I grew up and matured, both mentally and spiritually, missions became a priority in my life, leading to both short-term and career mission opportunities. Those experiences were life-changing for me.

This Sunday will be the second Sunday in a three-Sunday series focusing on missions we have entitled “For Such a Time.” We kick-started our series with an excellent sermon from Myron Drent, reminding us of the shortness of time. This coming Sunday, I will speak from the genesis of that theme, Esther 4:12-14. I will not be trying to blow you away with the message of the century but to gently remind you, and me, that not only is time short, but there are times when we are called to do something a bit out of the ordinary, and although saying “no” to the opportunity may not impact us or others now, it may very well do so in the future. I will call on all of us to consider how we might impact the cause of world missions with our prayers, our time, and our dollars. There are still millions and millions of human beings created in the image of God who need to hear about the hope we have in Jesus, and it takes money to do that. It’s just the way things work in our world. Esther was given an option. She could say “yes” or “no.” Saying “yes” brought with it a possiblecost; saying “no” brought with it a definite cost. Neither answer would thwart God’s purpose, but only he would then know what might have been.

This Sunday evening, September 21, at 6 pm in the worship center, we will hear an update from Sasha and Olga Skrypak concerning their ministry in Ukraine and with the Ukrainian church plant in Austin, Texas.  We will also hear some other brief updates along with information on upcoming short-term mission trips for 2025-2026. Hope you can join us for this missions evening!

I feel I missed an opportunity in 1987, and I do not like missing opportunities. Now I have another opportunity, this time to give financially toward missions and to help other believers take the opportunities I passed up and use them for the glory of God. I hope you will not pass up this opportunity either.  What might have been always remains what might have been.

Grace and peace,

Pastor Jym

‍