A Fair Trade: 99 for 1.

The Nav director, Tomaru-san, has been in Taipei for 32 years doing m-work. At first glance one cannot see much “fruit” to all this labor. But that’s the problem with first glances – they only catch quantity, not quality.

What I’ve seen in the Taipei Navs and their training apartment is quality: a group of about ten brothers ranging in age from sophomores to PhDs and varying in interest from engineers to med students to lawyers-to-be who have one thing in common - they really love JC and are really committed to Mt 28:19-20.

Someone once asked the question, “What would you rather have? 1000 people who are 90% committed? Or 10 who are 100%?” Think about this for a second. The answer is not so obvious, is it? But it will determine what quality of work you will produce for the Lrd.

Our gatherings aren’t huge but intimate. There’s no buzz from the loudspeakers (we only have one amplifier). And no one's claiming that the work is perfect. Of course it's not - no one's pretending it is. But there’s a solid awareness that His good work is being established deeply in the hearts of students in the m-stry. Yet it's a slow and sometimes painful work. It doesn’t happen overnight – or in 6 weeks (the length of my stay) – or in a year – or even in thirty-two. Heb 11:13 says:

All these people were still living by faith when they died. They did not receive the things promised; they only saw them and welcomed them from a distance. And they admitted that they were aliens and strangers on earth.

It will cost something.

One of the Korean Navs – Brother Lee – has been here for 8 years, and he’s got just two f8thful guys. But these are two who will, if they stick with it, grow into real men of G who will in turn impact the lives of more guys in the future…who in turn will do likewise and so on. It’s a m-stry that multiplies – but only for those who are committed enough to see it through the humble beginnings. It will cost you. But is it worth it?

What do you think? If a man owns a hundred sheep, and one of them wanders away, will he not leave the ninety-nine on the hills and go to look for the one that wandered off? And if he finds it, I tell you the truth, he is happier about that one sheep than about the ninety-nine that did not wander off. In the same way your Father in heaven is not willing that any of these little ones should be lost. – Mt 18:12-14

JC seems to think so. I’m finally coming to agree.

Perspective. That’s some of what I’m learning in Taipei.