I just got back from Mexico, and a lot of my friends have gone to and been getting back from various other places around the globe. I've always thought, and think now more than ever that short term missions are used as a gut check to us.

They open our eyes to a world our heart has gone cold to. Images from all different types of media bring images to our eyes of extreme poverty and our heart has become calloused. After all, they are just pictures, we know nothing of the people in them. Whenever I meet someone who is able to feel these people's pain, from halfway across the world I have to wonder what's wrong with my heart. It has trouble feeling broken for the broken.

I think that short term mission trips gets our hearts back to being able to do that. We meet the people in these circumstances and come away amazed. We realize that we very often get consumed with a life of acquiring things that don't give happiness. When we are on these trips we see people who are happier than most we know here in the states, with less than everyone we know. The kids have a few outfits, no toys, no clean water, but they have joy and love and are happier than most here in America.

But eventually hard life wears down on their hearts. Tragedy can strike and steal away everything they have worked for. Yet they find their joy in Jesus and keep on. It's amazing. How many of us find our joy in Him? Like truly, would be happy if the worst happened? The past few days a flood in South Asia displaced 20 million people. How would we react to that? Terribly. And we have put our hope in Jesus, he'll carry us on. But what about the people there who don't know Him? Where does their hope come from? Can they have any after such a disaster? Our hearts should break for what breaks His.

We need people to spread the love of Christ past our cubicles, suburbs, giant SUVs, and high paying salaries. Those things pass away. He is eternal, and doing His work is better than anything we can accomplish on our own. So lets reevaluate our lives and our culture and heal the broken. Whether that is here in America or abroad, that's between  you and God.