Check out my short video about life on the race!: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ct1VlsFZuF8&t=1s
Our whole squad is serving this month in Jaco, Costa Rica! More specifics on our amazing ministry opportunities and city will be coming next week. However, one of our current activities has been working on creating a park and soccer field for the community at Playa Azul- a beach and community right outside of the tourist destination of Jaco.
During my time on the race so far, I have seen so many kids playing soccer! Even when it pours the rain- that doesn’t stop the kids from their favorite game. No one says “yes” to playing soccer just to spectate. When I played sports back in high school and even softball with my Church one summer- I was all in. Saying yes to being on a team meant saying yes to the training, conditioning, struggles, and successes. I know I couldn’t wait to be out in the field/ice/court. I never wanted to sit on the bench- I wanted the coach to put me to help my team, be apart of the action, to have fun, and have purpose.
Just like you don’t sign up for a sport to sit on the sidelines, you don’t commit to Christ and then insist you are going to wait on the bench. When you say “yes” to Christ, you are saying yes to be part of a team. Christianity is not a spectator sport- but sometimes we act like it is. Its easy to think that others are doing good work for the group. It can be tempting to think that we aren’t good enough to be put on first base- but the truth is that when Jesus is the coach- he has a place for all of this children on the field. We are called to be in the game, supporting our team, growing our team, and that gives us purpose.
If you have a personal relationship with Jesus, you have tasted the goodness, the peace, the meaning, and the light that comes from him. If you have walked with Christ, you have felt how lives can be radically transformed, brokenness redeemed, and pain restored.
We know the joy from the father is perfect:
“There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear” 1 John 4:18
We know this joy is eternal:
“for in this way the entrance into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ will be abundantly supplied to you” 2 Peter 1:11
We know our place in the kingdom of heaven is eternal:
“In my Father’s house there are many dwelling places. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? 3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, so that where I am, there you may be also.” John 14:2-3
Now, signing up to be on team Jesus isn’t exactly easy. Why do we need to “train?” Why aren’t we taken out when the game gets stressful? Why aren’t we given an easier position?
All of the trials in life can lead us to ask why God doesn’t just sweep us away in the Chariot of fire like Elijah and transport us directly to heaven already- to a world with no tears, no pain, or no suffering?
But imagine if he did just that. What if Jesus swept you up to Heaven and gave you a tour of streets paved with Gold. He brings you to a palace and when you walk down the hallway you see a room with your name engraved outside the door. When he shows you the inside you want to cry at the thought that was put into its decoration- because he knows you better than you even know yourself. The peace and love that you felt of God’s presence while on Earth is magnified beyond anything you could ever comprehend in your little human mind.
But then…. God pulls the curtains back in your room and parts the clouds below to reveal pieces of the Earth you left behind. He reveals to you communities that are experiencing extreme economic deprivation and cultural/political abuse. He points to individuals who are chasing alcohol to numb the pain of their mental illness. Those who use drugs to escape their own reality of regret. Others are overworked because their image of themselves is wrapped up in their professional achievements. There are orphans, in many forms, who don’t know what its like to hug their parents and say “I love you.” Some have seemingly easy lives, but live in darkness because they haven’t known the glory of the Lord. What numbs you the most is the fact some of those individuals are people who are close to you. And, many of those names are not written anywhere in the kingdom. Jesus just stands back and waits for your reaction.
You know he won’t leave you. He has been with you this whole time- and that peace is magnified as you now inhabit a kingdom that is completely consumed by him. Your name isn’t being removed from the door to your room- it is permanently etched into history. Your story won’t be erased from the book of life.
After seeing what Jesus has revealed to me, and knowing his all consuming goodness- I imagine myself looking back at him and saying, “put me in, coach.” I’m ready to play. The thought of leaving this place is sad- because of its beauty and proximity to the father, however, at the same time I have anxious excitement, motivating pain, and intense energy. I want all the black plaques on the rooms next to me to be filled with those I love and those that I see. I want those people that I see to have true love. I want to be apart of creating a place with justice, grace, and mercy in an incomplete world. I am burning to be put to use to bring Heaven down to Earth.
Its easy to question why you are here. Its easy to question why I am on the World Race, why we face challenges, why we are asked to be uncomfortable. But that is part of being a team member. I want to look to the Coach every day as to how and where I should play. Because I have said yes to him, every morning I want to wake up and ask him to put me in the game.
By the end of November, I am in need of $7,000 in order to remain on the Race for the rest of the year. If you feel called to support what God is doing through me and my squad- please, please consider making a deductible donation on this page! You can also contact me via e-mail at [email protected]! Thank you or your prayers and support!
