I am a missionary.
Since the first year or so of my Christian experience, when I was about 15 or 16, I had been very interested in ministering to people.  Through music.  To kids.  Visiting the elderly.
As I sat in classes, chapels, missionary meetings and understood my Bible more in Bible College, that interest turned into a passion.  On a Friday night at Canadian Bible College, I remember coming to the front of the chapel auditorium, kneeling as the speaker called those who felt God tugging on their hearts to be involved in missions.  The Holy Spirit was tugging on my heart!
The following summer, I found myself in a Native village near The Pas, Manitoba, reaching out to people of all ages as a summer missionary.  That opportunity opened my eyes to the needs right in Canada and I decided to continue with my Bible school education to prepare for missions.
The next year, at Nipawin Bible Insitute, I also went forward at a missionary conference session.  Through some tears, while the hymn "I Surrender All" was playing quietly on piano, I dedicated myself to missions as a career, not knowing for sure where, but definitely that I was going!
The Scripture in Ephesians chapter 2 verse 8-10 has had an impact on my understanding of serving the Lord.  Among other verses such as Matthew 28 "The Great Commission" and the verse in Matthew 9 about "The harvest is plentiful, but the labourers are few...", the words in Ephesians motivated me to seek how I could be involved in ministry, especially as a Christian woman.
"For by grace you have been saved through faith.  And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.  For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them."
I wanted to respond to the wonderful grace I had received from God through Jesus.  This verse seemed to call for action and I was more than willing to be active!  Now I know I have not always acted with wisdom or patience; I have been a "doer", a Martha, and not always a Mary, who sits at the feet of Jesus to learn.  My motives have sometimes to prove I am worth something in the kingdom, in the church.  Sometimes I have been compelled by guilt and obligation, not out of love.
But this Christmas season, I have a fresh perspective on this passage in the Bible.
As our ministry is now more about member care of our missionaries in Healing Hearts, and more administrative and leadership of an organization than the actual hands-on church planting, this verse came to mind.  There are always adjustments in job description and role and we know the future may hold more changes with growth and with changing times and culture.  So I was praying, 'Lord, what are the works you have for me to do?'
And in my devotions, I read Isaiah 61 (and the repeating of the first verses in Luke 4).  I saw that Jesus Christ had this very same calling on His life, that God had good works prepared beforehand, that He should walk in them...His works were to "bring good news to the poor,...to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives...to proclaim the year of the Lord's favour...to comfort all who mourn..." (verses 1-2).  He came as a baby and all along, God had a plan for His Son.  That plan also meant Jesus would have to suffer, in every way, and to give His life at a young age.  His death would be shameful, painful and cruel.  That also was a crucial part of the works prepared for Jesus to do.
And Jesus did walk faithfully in those works, right to the end.  Philippians 2:7&8 ~
"...but made Himself nothing, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men.  And being found in human form, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross."
It was a very sobering thought to me that the changes and adjustments I have to make in my ministry experience are so minor compared to the cost that Jesus paid in His calling!  But He followed God's will, scorning the shame and gave the ultimate sacrifice.
A special Gospel song I have sung at both Christmas and Easter is entitled, "The Greatest Gift" by Vicky Beeching.  The chorus goes like this:
"The greatest gift I've ever received is the cross, the cross;
for there He gave Himself up for me, on the cross, the cross.
And with the Blood He poured out for me, He has saved my soul.
You have given me the Greatest Gift of all."
After 27+ years of serving as a missionary in Regina and now beyond, I still want to be faithful and active and prayerful in Kingdom work.  I am His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus, and as long as I have breath, I want to keep serving...for my Saviour is so worth my life, my all.