Spiritual Reflections
Finally doing what God sent me to Tamale to be
Pat Ozment, Jr.

Tuesday morning I had my first experience teaching a class full of young Ghanaian men who are studying for the ministry. Remember this is after about 10 months of application, examinations, references, conferences, eight weeks of orientation and training, then commissioning, shots, immigration, relocation to Tamale, jet lag, followed by six months of waiting which included, culture shock, cross culture school, language learning, the dry season and Harmatan dust, malaria, and a three week journey home for my Dad's funeral, and finally a run-in with the Ghanaian police.

Now I finally get to teach, Glory! Hallelujah! "Pastoral Ministry," "Personal Spiritual Life," and "Old Testament Survey," are my courses.

"Now," I thought, "I am finally doing what I came here to do." Whoa, just a cotton picking minute. There is something wrong with, "I am finally doing what I came here to do." The critical thing is not "what I came here to do." It is "what God sent me here to be." All of the preparation that I have mentioned along with everything that has happened in my life, is not so I can do something. It is so I can be something. I had some Godly men and women in my own seminary experience at Mid America Baptist Theological Seminary, who taught me that very thing, and that is what I must be to the young men who attend my classes.

In Matthew 5 we have what many call the, "greatest sermon recorded, the Sermon on the Mt." In it, Jesus said, "If you would be blessed, be poor in spirit, be one who mourns, be meek, be one of those who hungers and thirst for righteousness, be merciful, be pure in heart, be a peacemaker, and be persecuted for the sake of righteousness. 1 Peter 1:16 says, "be holy." Revelation 2:10 says, "be faithful." Ephesians 4:32 says, "be kind." 1 Peter 3: 8 says, "be tender hearted." 1 Thessalonians 5:14 says, "be patient."

Well you could say that the Bible also says a great deal about "doing." It does, but the message is, if you are what you ought to be, you will do what you ought to do. I think I've got it. Get it, and I'll see you in church.

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