Guest Blog written by: Jessica Brown

i sit listening to the waves crash to the shore.  if heard from another shore, perhaps they could lull me into a false sense of togetherness.

security.

but the truth is we have lives of vast extravagance.
because just beyond the place we are now is mass poverty.

little jobs.

less income.

poorly constructed homes.

people bathing and washing all in the same water that pours out into the

same ocean that crashes to the shore.

i’ve seen nothing like it.
and i will never forget.

there are girls sold to men for their pleasure.
and people without access to basic medical care.

there are animals whose ribs we can count.

and a craving to feast on the only Bread that gives life.

my heart is broken.
not because i pity those that i see.

but because they are a reflection of the same One who created us all.

the One who called us to this place is the same One who breaks our hearts
for that which breaks His.

to open our eyes to the things not of this world and move us to a place of

self-denial.

‘rich and poor have this in common: The Lord is maker of them all.’
proverbs 22:2

and the One who creates us all is beckoning us into relationship with Him.
His relentless pursuit of us calls us to action.

because once we see everyone as image-bearers of Christ, then we are moved

to love as He loves us.

the crashing waves on the shores of La Ceiba this morning are as rhythmic
and peaceful and sure as the One who has called us to love.

rich and poor.

young and old.

sick and healthy.

lost and found.

brothers and sisters.
they are to us who know the love that covers us all.

He who called us is faithful.
to Him be all the glory.