Jesus Wants The Rose/Matthew 9:37-38

I was just stalking my uncles facebook page because my aunt is in South Sudan right now, and I want to know EVERYTHING about what she is doing. My uncle happens to be a pastor, like my dad, and one of his church members posted a video he shared in church by Matt Chandler called, Jesus Wants the Rose. I watched this video and couldn't help but think of Uganda. Well, all of Africa for that matter. If you haven't seen this video, look it up. Basically Matt Chandler is telling a story about a sermon in which a pastor was preaching about sex, but going about it in a way he didn't agree with. (that's sort of beside the point but hang in there with me)   The pastor passed a rose around telling his congregation to smell the rose and touch the rose and pass it on. At the end of the sermon the pastor asked for the rose back and held it up to show everyone. The stem was broken, the petals were falling off, and the rose was pretty beaten up from being passed around. The pastor ended by saying "Now who would want this rose?" Matt Chandler says he wanted to scream, "JESUS WANTS THE ROSE!" 

I want to scream it too! JESUS WANTS THE ROSE! That is the whole point of the Gospel! It's hard to believe sometimes that the God of the universe would become a man and die for our sins when He himself lived a sinless life, but He did! He did it because He wants us! GOD WANTS US. That is unbelievable, but it's true. Some people look at Sudan, Uganda, and other third world countries as the rose that has been passed around and beaten up, but JESUS WANTS THE ROSE! Jesus wants Uganda. Jesus wants Sudan. Jesus wants it all! PRAISE HIM! Today, with 116 days left until I return to Uganda, I am thankful that I serve a God that has not forgotten the least of these. I am thankful to serve a God that served the poor, dirty, needy sinners and left an example of the kind of life we should live. I am so thankful that the God of the universe looks on us, all of us, and calls us His children! 

Matthew 9:37,38

"³⁷ Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; ³⁸ therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.” "

Lord your word says the Harvest is plentiful! I pray that you would send out workers into the Harvest! I thank you that you love us enough to tell us to go and make disciples of all nations.  I am forever blown away by your insane love for us! Thank you Jesus! Thank you!