Lately I’ve been thinking about all the things I’m leaving
behind as I venture out on this journey around the world….nice house, nice car,
nice job, nice
family, nice church, pretty much the nice life. Everything I need, I have. Everything I want is within reach. Why give it all up? Why walk away now when it appears the game is
in my favor? The game of LIFE- you’ve
played before. Be careful, sometimes you
get more than you’ve bargained for. I
certainly did!
I have a tendency to measure my life by my accomplishments
or successes – most of America
does. It’s not bad, but it’s also not
enough. In all my attempts at success,
I’ve always come up short. It’s not
because success isn’t satisfying, it’s because there’s so much more to life
that success suggests.
How can I grapple with the reality that in the course of the
next year, I will fall in love with people who have no homes, no jobs, no cars
or families, and yet I will find more joy in these people than I’ve seen in all
my successes added together? It doesn’t
make sense, especially not from my Western worldview, but I like it. And I like what it’s going to do in me.
Jesus explains it to Peter in John 13:6-9.
“He came to Simon Peter, who said to him, ‘Lord, are you
going to wash my feet?’
Jesus replied, ‘you do not realize now what I am doing, but
later you will understand.’
‘No,’ said Peter, ‘you shall never wash my
feet.’
Jesus answered, ‘Unless I wash you, you have no part with
me.’
‘Then Lord,’ Simon Peter replied, ‘not just my feet but my
hands and my head as well!’”
It’s not about a title, a job, a possession, or a
degree. It’s not about climbing a ladder
or making a sale. It’s about living a
legacy that gives beyond the tangible realm of understanding. It’s about allowing the Lord to work in what
I don’t understand. It’s about giving
away the nice life to serve.
I don’t regret the choices I’ve made in my life. I know that who I am is a product of where
I’ve been. And I’m excited about my
future. You see, I’ve found freedom, the
freedom to live and be and worship. I
want everyone to experience this freedom.
The Lord is calling me to a place where the darkness has made those in
it desperate for light and life and FREEDOM!
