**blog password: govols
(I have written this blog in a way that is a little unorthodox. The words in normal print follow the traditional storyline of a blog while the words in bold follow a conversation that I had in a Vietnamese coffee shop. I invite you to read the two storylines separately or interspersed as they are. Thank you in advance for following along.)
I have a confession. I have been a Christian for almost 5 years, and before this month I had never shared the Gospel. At least not really.
What does grace mean?
Sure, I had told people that I was a Christian. Sure, I had served the homeless and stayed in African villages on mission trips. Sure, I had read parts of the Gospels to children in Bible classes. I thought that I was doing well, but in reality I had never put the story of the Gospel into my own words for someone who had never heard it before.
Let me tell you a story.
I had never dreamt of asking the question “Have you ever heard of Jesus?” and receiving a confused shake of the head in response.
Have you ever heard of a man named Jesus?
No?
In fact, I had never prayed for the gifts of evangelism or teaching. To be honest, those gifts made me feel a bit nervous.
Christians believe that Jesus is the son of the one true God.
Then I left my home in the Bible Belt of the United States and found myself on the beaches of Vietnam– a country that is closed to the Gospel. In Vietnam a mere 1.5 percent of the population is Protestant Christian, and it is illegal to come as a missionary and evangelize.
The Bible is a book that tells us Jesus’ story.
The Bible says that Jesus lived on the earth about 2,000 years ago.
This month I have taught English in a coffee shop in Danang, Vietnam- the same city where the first American troops arrived to fight the Vietnam War ironically enough. Based on what I have been taught in history classes, I expected the Vietnamese people to be wary if not hateful toward visiting Americans.
While Jesus was a man, He taught people more about His father God.
After a few years of teaching, though, Jesus was killed by people who did not believe Him.
I could not have been more wrong. My teammates and I have been welcomed with arms flung open wide by our Vietnamese friends. We have been treated to dinner. We have been waved and smiled at while walking down the street. We have been taken on tours of breathtaking Vietnamese towns. In short, we have been incredibly blessed by the people we were hoping to bless.
The people nailed Jesus’ hands and feet to a cross, and He died.
And we have been questioned profusely about our lives. Where do we live? How many brothers and sisters do we have? What did we study in college? For me, what does my tattoo say?
Christians believe that Jesus was the last and ultimate sacrifice.
If you do not know, I have a tattoo on my right wrist that says Saved by Grace. It is written in what is supposed to be the shape of a nail. I got the tattoo on a bit of a whim while interning in New York City one summer. It is not the most beautiful tattoo, and my younger brother loves to make fun of me by insisting that it is crooked. If I am being honest, I have had quite a few moments of regret about getting it.
Christians do not have to give sacrifices to ancestors and gods everyday like people in Vietnam do because of Jesus.
By dying on the cross, we believe that Jesus took responsibility for all of our mistakes so that we do not have to be punished for them by God.
Since being in Vietnam, though, I have not had a moment of doubt about my tattoo. It is quite rare to have a tattoo in Vietnamese culture. Therefore, I am questioned almost everyday by my students about what it says and means.
Jesus sacrificed Himself freely for everyone on earth. For you and for me even.
When my students ask, I could not escape if I wanted to. There is no excuse or easy way out. I am forced to share the Gospel. It is almost as if I can hear God saying, “Brooke, you can do this. I know you don’t want to have this awkward conversation right now, but it’s time that my children hear about me.”
And the story gets better.
After 3 days, Jesus came back to life.
I am convinced that I have shared the story of the Gospel more in a few weeks in Vietnam than I would have in my entire life if I had never left the United States. And it makes me wonder, what if I return home from the World Race and choose to settle into a comfortable American home with a normal American job. If I am being honest, most days that is what I want. I want stability and a beautiful home. I want a job that affords me enough money to travel the world. I want my children to grow up next to their grandparents. But at what cost?
Now, Christians can talk to Jesus everyday by praying. Sometimes He even talks back.
Just as it is impossible to ignore the existence of orphans once you have held one in your arms, it is impossible to deny that there are millions of people who have never had the chance to hear the Gospel once you have looked one in the eye over a cup of coffee.
Before I was a Christian I thought that this story was very silly and laughed at people who believed it.
When I became a Christian and was baptized, my youth minister told me that I was making a choice that many people choose to die for. What if for me (and maybe for you) dying means giving up dreams of traditional careers and comfortable homes? What if taking up your cross means moving across the Pacific Ocean to a closed country?
But I started reading the Bible and became a Christian when I was about your age– 18.
If you are anything like me, that question strikes fear into your heart and makes you squirm in your seat. Perhaps it is time that we truly consider that question, though. Perhaps it is time that we imagine the possibilities and understand what could happen if we follow the calls that are on our lives rather than cowering behind our white picket fences and fancy American college degrees.
Since then, talking to Jesus has changed my life.
Jesus has filled me with joy, hope, peace. He teaches me how to love other people more, and He sent me here to Vietnam to talk to you.
Imagine for a moment a world in which every knee truly bends and every tongue truly confesses the name of Jesus as Lord. Imagine a time in which every nation truly declares the glory of God.
You can talk to Jesus too.
Imagine that that time is now.
If you ever have anymore questions about Jesus, there are lots of Christians here.
So, today I am challenging you to join me in a prayer. A prayer that asks God what He truly wants for your life and for His world. A prayer that strips away the temporary desires of your heart and considers a new heaven and a new earth.
We love to introduce people to Jesus.
And He has been waiting to meet you.
Who knows what His answer will be?
“Proclaim the good news of His salvation from day to day.
Declare His glory among the nations,
His wonders among all peoples. – Psalm 96:2-3″
