Transformation

Transformation.

 According to Webster's definition, to transform is to

"...change the outward form or appearance of; to change in character or condition..." 

When I think about Mercy Ships and I think about the mission and vision of the organization, transformation is at the very heart and center of it.

Taking people in need of a transformation; those who are broken, ostracized by their communities, some abandoned by their families, others without the resources to even attempt to treat and change their condition. I would venture to say that all come hoping for a physical transformation, but also come in need of a great spiritual transformation. To know and experience love and acceptance; to hear the message that they are not forgotten, they are not alone, and that their life matters. This love is at the very center of Christianity; that God, through Jesus Christ, loves to come and take what was old, what was lost, and what was broken and renew it to make is something beautiful.

Come and see the transformation yourself...

 

 "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has gone and the new has come!"

2 Corinthians 5:17

"The LORD is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in Spirit."

Psalm 34:18

"Then will the eyes of the blind be opened and the ears of the deaf unstopped."

Isaiah 35:5

 

"Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves, for the rights of all who are destitute."

Proverbs 31:8

 

"Oh LORD, open my lips, and my mouth will declare your praise."

Psalm 51:50

"A man with leprosy came to him and begged him on his knees, 'if you are willing, you can make me clean.' Filled with compassion, Jesus reached out his hand and touched the man. 'I am willing' he said. 'Be clean!' Immediately the leprosy left him and he was cured."

Mark 1:40-41

 

"You turned my wailing into dancing; you removed my sackcloth and clothed me with joy, that my heart may sing to you and not be silent, Oh LORD my God, I will give You thanks forever."

Psalm 30:11-12

   

  

You see, this life transformation is not about a ship of really nice people who are especially good at knowing how to be kind to other people; it's about something greater than us. A love that is beyond our ability or knowledge; the love that is poured into us is everything we have to give. The love that Jesus had to touch the Leper, to associate with the prostitute at the well, and to be with and spend time with those who were tax colletors and unaccepted by their society. Who Jesus was and who he is today is exactly the reason why it does not make sense to our home countries and cultures of why we would pay money to come and work to touch diseases and disfigurments that would, even in a medical community, make us shudder. It's because of this great power of transformation that WE experience, that we can, in turn, bring it to others.