You may be surprised by the title of this blog. After traveling for four months, you might be thinking I’ve come to realize how blessed I am to have been raised in America. While that is SO true, I’ve also have become so saddened by the state of my home country.
I’ve never experienced such wonderful hospitality until I’ve spent time outside of the United States. I’ve had an employee leave the coffee shop he was working at to walk around 300 feet down the road to show me and my teammate where an ATM was. I’ve watched kids open their Christmas presents (candy) and immediately begin handing it out to me, my teammates, and the other kids before they took some for their self. I’ve had a teenage girl carry her own mattress downstairs for my team and I to sleep on and she voluntarily slept on the floor. These are just a few of the examples of kindness and hospitality that I’ve experienced so far on the race.
In addition, I’ve noticed how much more open these people are to hearing the gospel. They’re not only more open, but they are more willing to accept and more grateful to hear the Good News. I believe a big part of this reasoning is because these people don’t have it as “good” as Americans do. They are more desperate for what Jesus can do in their lives. My opinion is that Americans have become too comfortable. A lot of us have all that we want/need (material items), so why would we need a Savior? What about the rise in anxiety, depression, and suicide in our country? “Stuff” can’t fix that, but a lot of people continue to buy more and more. Maybe buying material items isn’t your solution to fixing your problems. Maybe it’s being obsessed with how much you accomplish in life, having the perfect body, or having the most followers on Instagram. Yeah those things can give you happiness for a little while, but that can only last so long. What happens when that anxiety starts creeping back in?
I believe Christianity has become too cultural in the United States. A lot of people say they’re Christians, but are you REALLY? I’m not trying to be offensive because before I really became a Christian, I thought I was already a Christian. I knew that Jesus died on the cross for my sins, but I didn’t REALLY know what that meant. I didn’t know the true gospel message. Jesus died on the cross for you and me because he so desperately wants personal relationship with us. There was no way we could have this relationship until the perfect sacrifice was made (Jesus dying). God came down in the form of a man to live a sinless life and to suffer and die for us, because without Him, we would all not be going to heaven. Heaven is a place without sin, so since we’re all born sinners, we couldn’t possibly get to heaven without Jesus’ sacrifice.
I also want to point out that Jesus didn’t die just so you and I can make it to heaven. He died because He wants personal relationship with us and to bring heaven to earth right now. He wants you to be living your best life, free of anxiety, depression, comparison, stress, etc. God doesn’t want us just to believe in Him, He wants us to be completely changed and renewed by Him. This requires us to give our life to Him. I completely understand that this can seem so scary (I was very scared about this), but as I’ve said before in my blogs, the Creator of you and me is better able to guide our lives than we are able to. Jesus wants life conversion. As heard from one of my favorites podcasts, “Overcoming Monday”, conversion is “laying our life down and trading it for the one God originally had planned for us, before sin came into the world”. God never intended for us to suffer in this life. Putting all your trust in Jesus changes everything for the better! Do you want fulfillment in your life in a way that nothing in this world can give you? Jesus can give you that!
If you have any questions about more of what this looks like, feel free to reach out to me!
