I’ve been thinking a lot about wanting to share a little more in depth about why exactly I’ve decided to live the next year as an international missionary. The short, short version is that God has been transforming my heart, and that transformation along with hearing His voice has led my here.
God’s voice huh Mac? Yup. You mean a booming voice from the sky? Nope. Oh…you mean like a voice in your head? Nope. Oh…then what? Well…God has been speaking to me over the past 2 years through a number of books I’ve read. (For the record, that’s just one of the ways I’ve ‘heard’ Him.) And I’m using the phrase “speaking to me” to mean a number of things…in the case of these books, it’s more of a sense of God awakening something in my heart…bringing something to life….stirring my soul in a way that doesn’t happen on a day-to-day basis.
Okay….so what books are you talking about? Well…there’s four of them that have stood out among others over everything I’ve read the past 2 years. Each one will give a bit of insight as to the journey God has had me on…and how my heart and spirit have come alive! The first book I’d like to mention is…
Jesus For President
Shane Claiborne
(Check out the website for the book HERE!)
This is the book that started it all. I read it at the end of 2008, and in so doing, started a chain of events that completed altered the course of my life. Basically, in reading it, I began to catch a glimpse of a life I wasn’t experiencing. Claiborne shared story after story about his life, and the lives of those he knew…and the pasison they had not only for God’s love, but for other people, became incredibly clear. I couldn’t help but notice they were experiencing something far deeper than I was. They had a passion, a zeal, an excitement about life that got me thinking, “Whatever it is they have going on…I want in.”
I was also starting to see that folks at my church seemed to be experiencing the same passion that Claiborne and his community had. I began to realize that whatever life they were engaged in was not only real…but available. So in December of ’08, after deciding I genuinely wanted in on whatever incredible excitement these people had, I prayed the following prayer:
“God. Make 2009 radically different than any other year I’ve had.”
He answered. It was. And that single prayer marks the beginning of God changing my life. Since then, I have discovered that deep life I had only been catching glimpses of. The best part is, I’m convinced that what I have experienced is not only JUST THE BEGINNING, but is only a small taste of what our infinite God has to offer, which just fuels the fire for more.
If you’re a believer in Christ, I would totally encourage you to read this book. With that said…Claiborne is very, very radical, not only in his lifestyle, but also in many of his ideas and ideals. A little more radical than I’m ready to completely jump on board with. (I’m just not totally prepared to start making my own clothes.) He’s also far more politically charged than I am, or want to be.
But, I firmly believe he is living out the life and plan and adventure God has for him. I also firmly believe he is a pioneer…and that as he leads, he gets others to follow. I know for a fact God used his thoughts and words to get me thinking and to get me to want more, to wonder about the depths of God and to seek it out! I may not be as “out there” as Claiborne…but I don’t think I’m supposed to be. At least not yet. I think one of his roles in being incredibly extreme is to get others to start moving in that direction.
So that’s where this journey starts. That’s where my curiosity for more of life was awakened, and where I began to discover it for myself. But it gets better…Part 2 talks about the crazy awesome stuff that God does. In fact, you’ll learn about a guy who gets teleported. No, really. He does. So, stay tuned….
