"To be loved but not known is comforting but superficial. To be known and not loved is our greatest fear. But to be fully known and truly loved is, well, a lot like being loved by God. It is what we need more than anything. It liberates us from pretense, humbles us out of our self-righteousness, and fortifies us for any difficulty life can throw at us."- Tim Keller
Todd and I have been in Jaco, CR three weeks tomorrow. The past month has been somewhat of a whirlwind as we prepared to move internationally, say goodbye to close friends and family, tidy up all important logistics, and most recently: transition into a new culture. (Still transitioning by-the-way haha)
Jaco, in short, has been a place where we have been embraced with welcoming arms. We have already grown to love this town and its families. Each day we are more and more grateful to do the ministry the Lord has called us to here.
As we have been settling into small town life the Lord keeps reminding us the richness of incarnational ministry. We've never really lived in an area where we could walk or bike to all our major needs. Going to the grocery store is an invitation to see everyone in town you know! I love biking through and being able to yell across the street to a familiar face.
There is a richness to being seen, heard, and known. We are excitedly and humbly walking into a deeper experience of that here. There is a mystery to community which we all crave, and I love being able to do life together with those here. We have the honor of serving the Kingdom hand in hand all the while being the people God has created us to be. It's a beautiful thing.
Recently, we stumbled across a documentary with Eugene Peterson and N.T Wright as we prepared to move to Jaco. It was nothing more than timely as we get to experience the richness of "Godspeed" here and now.
If you have about 30 minutes, take some time, grab a cup of coffee, and watch this documentary sharing the richness found in deep community and how to "be known in your own backyard." It's definitely something we are wanting to experience more and more of here.
Click on the image below to see the film " Godspeed".