It’s been a month of learning for me. I promise there will be more stories from the ministry coming soon. Part of the beauty of The World Race is that he is working on us just as much as he’s working through us. Here is the latest that I’ve been learning.
As I was sitting in church last Sunday, I realized that I’m dying (in a good way). Last week I blogged about whether having only God was enough if all else was stripped away. Well, we serve a God who works quickly, and he’s been continuing to do that in me. Anyway, while at church, I was sitting there feeling like a lot of who I am is dying. It was weird, and I couldn’t place what God was doing. I went home and started looking through passages to figure out what is going on. I looked through Romans 6 where Paul talks about dying to sin and being a slave to righteousness. Good stuff…but that wasn’t it. Then I found it. In Matthew 10:37-39, Christ is speaking to his disciples and telling them they must love him more than their father, mother, or anything else in their life. He asks them to pick up their cross and follow him. He ends with the statement that whoever tries to find his life will lose it and whoever loses his life for my sake, will find it. That’s what is happening. That’s what is going on. I am dying to the life that I spent so many years trying to find. For so long that verse was convicting to me. However, what I felt at that moment in church was refreshing. It was even somewhat of a relief…”finally, Lord”. Finally, you’re taking me to a place where the only part of me that’s left alive will be alive in you. I’m thankful it’s a place that he’s led me to. I didn’t even really choose it. He has led my heart to a place where much of the change has already taken place, and my brain is just now figuring it out. Cool. Now what? I’m not really even sure, but I know I’m in a place where my willingness is increasing. As I was sitting there, I was thinking that I’m so much more willing to go anywhere and do anything that he asks. Before the race, I was kind of in a protective mode. I wanted to protect everything that I had…everything from my gear to my health to the life that I’d found. Now, my attitude is more of “whatever”. If my stuff gets stolen, that’s cool. If I get really sick in Africa, that’s cool. I’m just not worried about that stuff anymore. I’m not going to go looking for trouble, but it just doesn’t matter because I will praise the Lord through all of it. My life is his. I just want to hear him and act in obedience. I just want to know the LIVING God more. I just want to more and more of him, and I know that through sickness or anything that happens, he’s got me.
One last thing. We took a tour of a mosque and had a discussion with one of the Muslim men who shows visiting groups around. While we were there just to check it out, he was definitely interested in selling us on the finer points of Islam in comparison to Christianity. It was great!! Now I love Christ more. We learned all about it being a works-based religion. Proclaim that Allah is God, do more good in your life than bad, and you’re set. He told us about the angel sitting on one shoulder and the devil sitting on the other. Both are keeping track of your “points”…your good works and your bad works. My only response is “thank you, Christ”. Thank you for paying it all. Because of what you did on the cross and what you’ve done in our lives, our good works will flow naturally out of us (good tree bearing good fruit). Christians aren’t going to heaven because they are good people or do more good than bad. We can’t earn our way into heaven or try to repay Christ in any way. We can just say thank you for loving us so much and live to tell about this crazy love to others. That is the only God I’m willing to follow.
