Meet our Ethiopian housemom, Worke. She is kind, humble, and loves to serve. Years ago, when Ethiopia was under communist rule, she was imprisoned for following Christ. For months she was toted from village to village, thrown in prisons and never knowing if her life was coming to an end. Even through abuse and guns pointed to her head, she stood firm in her faith.
‘I wasn’t scared,’ she recalls. ‘If I die, I go meet Jesus. But I never died. I had God’s protection.’
“Are you willing to be imprisoned for your faith? And are you willing to face persecution to take the gospel to the ends of the earth?” These are the questions I’ve been pondering the last few weeks. A year ago, I would’ve given you a weak “yes,” and I would’ve believed I was telling the truth. I can confidently tell you now that it was a totally hypothetical probably. In reality, I was just sure I would never be in that position and like to assume the best. As a middle class American, I couldn’t (and probably won’t ever fully) fathom the risk and persecution millions of believers face every single day. And I don’t think we should be taking that privilege lightly. We weren’t born into security and wealth to enjoy the comforts of the world. We were given the influence and the resources to carry the name of Jesus to the nations. Y’all, the Great Commission is not a suggestion. It’s not something a select few ‘good Christians’ are called to. It’s for every single one of us.
How differently would your life look if you knew God so intimately and trusted him so deeply that you were willing to walk right into the line of fire to introduce others to him? Would you still choose the American dream, or would you take advantage of all we’ve been given to spread the love of Christ? People are missing the chance for eternity because we are settling for church on Sundays in our multimillion dollar buildings. We’re busy building our careers, 401k’s, and vacation homes without ever stopping to think about our neighbors, communities, or the rest of the world. Please hear me when I say these things aren’t bad, and I’m not suggesting everyone pick up and move to third-world countries. But I am saying that if you are a follower of Christ, you have a responsibility. (And there are SO many ways you can help without ever leaving the States, even though you really should venture out and see the world. It’s incredible!)
After ministry for 6 months in total poverty and unreached places, I’m distraught. I’ve been doing life with people who have conquered unthinkable circumstances, from sex trafficking to imprisonment to genocide, and they still choose to surrender everything to the Lord. And here I am, not even wanting to trust God with the irrelevant things because I don’t need to.
Before I left for the Race, I had a great job, with great benefits, a budget, a savings account, and a backup plan. I had it so together that I didn’t need God to sustain me. Again, I’m not saying to go live recklessly, and people absolutely know struggle in the U.S. But I desperately want you to know the fullness of God and the beauty that comes when you fully surrender everything to him. We have brothers and sisters all over the world dying from persecution, starvation, and everything in between, and they need you to step into that kind of relationship with him. Their lives and their eternity depend on it.
