So I just got back from a lecture/dinner from the Economics Society of Oklahoma in OKC (yeah, I’m an economics nerd, I know). And I definitely got more than I bargained for. The keynote speaker was a guy by the name of Robert Tercek and the title of his lecture was “Inventing the Future.” Something struck me about the talk. He touched on this idea of cognitive dissonance where one of your beliefs is challenged by a seemingly contradictory thought. He testified that it is in these uncomfortable moments, when there is this friction between conflicting views, that creativity strikes and innovation can occur. Well that made me think. The same thing is true in our walk with God. It is during those uncomfortable moments, those times when life isn’t easy or simple, when your idea of who God is and how big He is gets challenged… that is when our faith is strengthened. So many times we run to what’s comfortable. We run away from something difficult in our life, or away from a question that God wants to answer. But it’s when we allow this cognitive dissonance to rub, when we allow ourselves to be uncomfortable and to TRUST God no matter what the circumstances look like…that’s where faith grows. That’s where we are refined to the image of Christ . We have to live out James 1:2-4 My Brothers! Count it as pure joy when you fall in to various trials and tribulations, knowing that the trying of your faith works perseverance. And let perseverance have her perfect work, so you can be PERFECT and ENTIRE, lacking nothing.
Well after the dinner I went up to ask him a few questions, and just to pick his brain a little bit. The man has a very impressive resume and I knew I could pick up a thing or two from just a small conversation. Well instead he invited me over to the hotel bar next door to have a beer and enjoy a real conversation. We were talking about all sorts of things, photography, the Moscow Music Peace Festival, and my personal favorite the influence of MTV on Asian, Indian, Middle Eastern, and Pacific Islander culture (quite the story, ask me about it sometime). Towards the end Robert asked me about my plans after graduation, so naturally I explained the World Race to him. He was extremely supportive of the idea and actually articulated a thought I’ve had for quite sometime.
My thought has been this. I could easily get a great job, make a lot of money, find a wife, buy a house in the suburbs, have a family, play golf on the weekends, live the “American Dream.” But for what? We are only given so much time on this earth, we are not guaranteed another day. We need to make the most out of every second, of every minute, of every hour, of every day. We need to change the world. And it’s possible. God has raised me in the richest country in the world, I have been given one of the best educations in the world, and have opportunities that so few people have. I think of Esther and her situation and what Mordicai said to her, “And who knows whether or not you have attained royalty for such a time as this?” (Esther 4:4) Who knows whether or not I have obtained the finances, education, and resources for such a time as this? I have the opportunity to travel around the entire world, loving, serving, proclaiming the gospel. I have resources like the internet and this blog, and a camera that I can bring the stories of the hopeless and broken to you. These World Race blogs can be seen by millions of people all over the world…One person can influence thousands of people, who in turn can influence thousands of people. I pray these blogs would strike the hearts and minds of God’s children, and that the whole world would be mobilized in the furtherance of the gospel. Whether that is through going yourself, whether that is through supporting missionaries or sponsoring impoverished children, or whether that is through prayer. God has provided the resources, it is up to us to unite and do what it takes to bring the gospel “to ALL nations” This is my prayer, that the body of Christ is united, “standing firm in one spirit, with one mind, striving together for the faith of the Gospel.
(Phil 1:27)
