Today we welcome Mark and Nicole to share about their life in (a faraway place) and how God is working there. I’m so humbled when I think about the sacrifices they make each day.  

The speaker could be in one’s ‘home’ church or at an organization’s conference. 

Coming from (a first world city) it’s hard to know what to say to you people who sacrifice so much for God every single day. 

When I am the ‘Mark and Nicole’ or one of the ‘you people’ in these statements, so many feelings spin around in my head. For starters: 

Puzzled. 

What sacrifices does the speaker think I’m making? Are they so radically different from ones he makes? 

Embarrassed.

I remember a recent team disagreement over what movie to watch. 

Irritated. 

Please stop the intro and share something from the Word. I’m so hungry to hear teaching in English. 

Guilty.

I remember the fun night of cooking with a house full of students. Or worshiping in another language. Or hearing a local pastor’s story of faith. I like my life! 

Proud. 

Yes, I’m secretly glad he realizes I missed my mother’s funeral or that my life isn’t a vacation on a tropical island. 

The speaker may truly be at a loss for how to introduce people he doesn’t know. Perhaps he’s thinking of them leaving a familiar culture, native language, and family traditions. There may be political situations that bring life-threatening dangers unknown at home. Serious illness and deaths may result from limited health services. Modern technology has vastly changed communication but internet connections still vary greatly. 

True, true, true. So why the myriad of responses? 

Because one is not enough. I’ve truly felt them all.

But mostly because emphasizing the word sacrifice in describing my life often separates me from the speaker and his world. I want to be part of the worldwide Body of Christ; the family that worships the “…one who offered for all time one sacrifice for sins…” No matter where we live or work; suffer or celebrate, Hebrews tell us “we have been made holy through the sacrifice of the body of Jesus.”