He came all this way to save me!

Julia Washburn
Ruah. 2022
16 x 20 inches
Print on Canvas

(from Out of Nothing exhibit)

The following are thoughts from my friend, Beth Roman’s, recent mission trip to Ukraine.

“Recently I returned from A two-week trip to Poland to participate in Proem’s refugee relief efforts to assist in everything from the transportation of refugees and medical supplies, receiving and sorting aid from other countries, organizing donations of shoes and clothing, and providing fun activities for the children during a stressful and frightening time.

We were blessed with an opportunity to drive ten hours round-trip to the Ukrainian border to help pick up nine refugees who were waiting for us there. We relied heavily on Google translate as we tried to navigate communication in English, Polish, Ukrainian, and Russian. The families were visibly relieved when they realized we had come for them. There were hugs and smiles and chatter, then long naps on the drive to the camp. Many times, over those two weeks a refugee would say to me or one of the other American team members ‘I can’t believe you came all this way to help us’ again and again they would express disbelief ‘I can’t believe you came all this way to help us’ 

I couldn’t help but think about Jesus. I couldn’t help but compare how they were feeling to the way I felt when I realized Jesus had come for me. I couldn’t believe he came all this way to save me. 

In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death— even death on a cross! (Philippians 2)

We considered it a privilege to retrieve our new friends from the border. Look at our faces! It was an absolute joy to us.”
Jesus was and is the King of heaven but – For the joy set before Him, He endured the cross. 

Jesus came all this way to save us!