1. The grass is always greener on the other side.
Many people ask me where I’m from while on the race. Right when I say America, they almost always follow it with, “Oh my, I’ve always wanted to visit there!” It blows my mind how no matter if I’m in Thessaloniki, Greece where nightlife is super prevalent or if I’m in the little, bitty village of Draganesti-Olt, Romania, almost every person’s response is the same. What makes it even crazier is that when they respond with such a desire to visit the states, I usually think, “Why would you want to leave such a beautifully sculpted land for something as bland as America?”
Ecclesiastes 11:8 says “however many years anyone may live, let them enjoy them all.” We are all in the exact place we’re in, at the exact time we’re there FOR. A. REASON. God gave us this opportunity to live our life here. Why do we continuously dwell on the fact that we aren’t somewhere else? So far, to my knowledge, the grass is just as green all around the world. The opportunities in front of you are just as big. Just as exciting. Just as wondrous. To quote the great Carly Brown (Adventures in Missions personnel), “stop thinking the grass is greener on the other side and water the dirt patch in front of you.”
Stop living in the mindset, “I wish I was there,” and start living in the mindset, “I wouldn’t want to be anywhere but here.” You’ve been given an amazing opportunity. Proverbs 27:1 says, “don’t boast about tomorrow for you do not know what a day may bring.” We aren’t guaranteed anything in this life. So stop wishing it away. You’re here now. What are you going to do about it?
2. You can’t please everyone.
While in Thessaloniki, Greece, my ministry was street evangelism. From 7 PM until 10-11 PM, I had the opportunity to go to the White Tower of Thessaloniki and just sit with strangers and talk. Sometimes we talked about their lives, other times we talked about our faith. Sometimes we talked about what food we had to try before we left, other times we got to tell them about our mission. However, many times instead of sitting and having an in-depth conversation, we would get rejected. Whether the person smiled shyly and said, “no thank you,” or completely ignored us, it was hard to deal with. It was hard to know that I wasn’t going to get any chance to speak to them about anything. Their hearts were so hardened by the world, that the idea of a mere five minute conversation with a stranger was too much.
At first, this kind of rejection was a really tough pill to swallow. However, then I came across Galatians 6:15, 17. The Message version states, “can’t you see the central issue in all this? It is not what you and I do. It is what God is doing, and he is creating something totally new, a free life! Quite frankly, I don’t want to be bothered anymore by these disputes. I have far more important things to do – the serious living of this faith. I bear in my body scars from my service to Jesus.”
As a Christian in America, you are viewed differently. People look at you funny for smiling all the time, having so much joy, and always trying to see the best in every situation you’re placed in. But what about being a Christian in a country where it is viewed as weak to need Jesus? What about being a Christian in a country where they have never heard of the idea that there is a Holy Spirit? Christianity is hard anywhere because our lifestyle is hated by the world, but what about in areas where the word “church” is immediately dismissed? That’s where these verses in Galatians give me life. I have FAR more important things to do than to dwell on the fact that someone didn’t want to talk to me. More importantly, GOD has far more important things to do THROUGH ME than to let me sit and have a pity party because my smile was ignored.
In this world, Christian or Atheist, Muslim or Agnostic, you can’t please everyone. Matthew 5:12 says, “rejoice and be glad because great is your reward in heaven.” Maybe I can’t please everyone on Earth. Maybe I will continue to get rejected. But as a Christian, I take delight in the idea that one day, tomorrow, next year, or fifty years from today, I will be in heaven. And in heaven, I CAN please everyone.
3. Love is blind.
Whether it be love they receive from God, from friends, from material possessions, or from marriage, everyone has something that they love. But something I’ve started to learn on the race is the idea of unselfish love. Love that is blind to mistakes, blind to hate, blind to appearance, and blind to any hurt the world has given us. Matthew 5:43 says, “love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.” The race has taught me to love so blindly that even those against me, I adore. Even those who cause me pain, I embrace. Even those who hate me, I pray for.
1 Peter 4:8 says, “above all, keep loving one another earnestly, since love covers a multitude of sins.” The greatest commandment is to love. Love patiently. Love kindly. Love without envy or boastfulness, without arrogance or rudeness. (1 Corinthians 12:4-8). I love my family. I love my friends. I love God more than anything this world has to offer. But I also love the person who ignored me. I also love the sinners who betray me. I also love the people that I sometimes don’t like. Why? Because in John 14:15 it says, “If you love me, you will keep My commandments.” If I’m really All-In, doing the thing for God..I will love EVERY SINGLE ONE of His children. The saved and the sinners alike. Because no matter how bad someone hurts me, it will never be anything close to the sins I have committed against my God.
I fail God daily and he still loves me. I walk away from God constantly and he still waits for me. I sin against God time and time again and he still forgives me. John 3:16 says, “God so loved the world, that He gave His only Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life.” Every sin I commit, past present and future, have already been forgiven and forgotten by the blood of Jesus. If I have a God that big, that mighty, and that loving, who am I to hate, reject, and reproach? Love without circumstance. Love without condition. Love without concrete evidence that it will be returned. Love blindly, just as God loves us.
As I continue on this race, I pray that you continue with me. I pray that the words God has given me speak something into you. I pray that what I do here, breathes life into you there. I pray you don’t judge a book by its cover. That you know what doesn’t kill you, in the end makes you stronger. That where you are and what you’re doing is vital because there’s no time like the present. And more than anything, I pray that you realize every day is a day to love the Lord. And while you love the Lord, I pray that you love those around you just as much.
