WHAT I LEARNED FROM THE RANSACKING OF MY HOME

Last week, I returned from a four day trip out of town (my wife was in SoCal) to find that my home had been ransacked. The burglars broke in through the kitchen window. Every piece of clothing was pulled out of the closets. Drawers were dumped upside down. Things were pulled over. The house was a complete mess. A few things were taken, including our LCD television, but nothing we valued was gone.

I was pondering what the burglars thought as they went through our "valuables." What did they learn about us and what was important to us? They must have been frustrated by all the family photos they found, all the ribbons and medals and other awards given to our kids. I wonder what they though about the multitude of Christian books, Bibles and literature focused on our faith?

They must have been frustrated that we didn't have diamonds and gold and guns and high-priced electronics filling the house. There was no cash hoarded anywhere - if there was we would have taken it long ago.

The burglars didn't take the things that make a house a home, the sentimental items such as family dishes, knick knacks, photos and various memorabilia. Thus, while the chaos had to be re-organized, the house was still a home and the things missing remind us of how little value there is in material things, but how priceless is the value of our family, our relationships, our minds and hearts and the things that really give meaning to our lives and our faith.

Jesus said that we are not to invest in things that are subject to being stolen or rusting or destroyed by moths. Instead, our treasure is to be in the eternal things that will outlast this world. The human soul is at the top of that list. What will a burglar find who breaks into your home?

THE INSPIRATION OF A LIFE WELL LIVED

Over the Christmas holiday I read the biography, "William Carey," by his great grandson, Pearce Carey. I don't have enough superlatives to describe the quality of the book and Carey's supernaturally empowered life. Carey was educated in a small village school in central England to age 12, then commenced a seven-year apprenticeship to learn how to make shoes. This was the latter half of the 18th century, during the American Revolution. He was short, developed a severe rash if exposed to too much sun, was sickly, and otherwise didn't inspire the imagination that he was destined for great things.

His fellow apprentice, less educated than he, led him to a personal relationship with Jesus Christ when Carey was 17. He was so thrilled with what Jesus Christ did for him that in his late teens and early 20s he taught himself Latin, Greek and Hebrew so that he could read the original texts of Scripture and study the original works of early saints. He then taught himself Italian, French and Dutch for good measure.

Carey loved adventure, but he longed for adventure for Christ - to see heathen people in far away lands hear of Christ for the first time and fall on their knees in confession, repentance and embrace of the grace of God. He became a lay pastor while working as a shoe maker. A small group of like-minded pastors joined him in forming one of the first Protestant mission societies, attempting to raise the public conscience of the need to evangelize the lost in dark nations.

By 1793, Carey and his team deemed the time ripe to go India. Against all odds, with the government and numerous other obstacles stacked against him, he and his family went to India, never to return to England. He was later joined by two other families who formed a missions community in Serampore, outside Calcutta, India. Carey lost 2 of his 5 sons there, he lost his precious wife, eventually re-married and lost his second wife. He lost numerous grandchildren. He went through one overwhelming, insurmountable challenge after another, only to see God work gloriously and faithfully through each crisis. Carey was a prayer warrior and a tireless servant.

By the time that Carey died, he had translated all or a portion of the Bible into 35 Asian languages, he had helped rid India of several abominable practices, he had endeared himself to the hearts and minds of the Indian people, he had inspired thousands of English and American missionaries to go to the unreached, he had helped his children become proficient missionaries in their own right, his work had transformed the attitude of Parliament toward missions, and he had trained up a host of British civil servants to represent Christ in India.

Carey's character and faithfulness and unshakeable faith that God longed to do the impossible through him, resonated through the book. I am not only inspired, but I want to inspire others to read this book and live a courageous supernatural life as well.