Home. A word we take for granted. We have everything we could want or imagine and more…This has been on my heart and mind a lot. Coming on the race, I was expecting to have a broken heart for the people I meet each and every day. Don’t get me wrong – I do. Their stories and lives are inspiring and heartbreaking, but there’s something else. My heart is being stirred and broken for you. The people back home. My friends and family. My community.
You see, God has stripped me of everything this year. I left everything at home. My rights, comforts, friends, family…I’ve left what I thought I hold dear to live a life of simplicity and realize that what I do hold dear hasn’t left me but has become a part of me and who I am. That is, Jesus! He’s with me every step of the way. I have Him and I have a backpack – and whatever I can fit in it. My pack is LIGHT compared to majority of the Squad, but it it still “heavy” at 36lbs. I am carrying around SO much stuff that I don’t need, want or use…yet I have the extra weight and baggage “just in case” I need it or want it at some point on my journey. It may be useful, so I’ll keep it…
Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.
It got me thinking…how often does that reflect our lives? How often do we hold onto something – whether it is an item of clothing, old memories, a relationship or even a grudge – that is tearing us down and adding extra weight to our lives. We have so much that we don’t need, want or use, yet we insist on having it be a part of us. I don’t get it.
These people get it. They live simplistically. What they have is not riches. They have nothing, yet have everything. They see the value in the little things. They reach out to everyone and anyone in need. They are loving. They have smiles on their faces. They live on what we would consider the impossible…sometimes just a dollar a day. They value time and relationships. We value success and money. Notice the difference? One focusses on others and the other on us. We are called to love each other as Christ loves us…sacrifice!
It is one thing to be an “authentic” Christian in America where we are blessed to have the Gospel available at our fingertips…podcast, radio, internet, books, movies, Christian stores…whereas majority of other Countries, you have to search hard and long to find the Gospel, and when you do find it, you often have to “hide it” as it is illegal. I’ve grown up with more bibles than I know what to do with, yet there are people around the world waiting for a chance to have a copy of their own.
We have been called to be a world Christian, not a worldly Christian. The difference? One knows of the world through God’s eyes and one is choosing into the world through our eyes and the eyes of those around us. Do you know the world around you? The real world..the world God created. The hurt, needs and burdens of those down the street, in your Country and around the world.
The world around me is not how it should be. I am in the midst of the poverty, sickness, loneliness and ungodliness. I challenge you to open your eyes and heart to the real world. Look beyond what the media shows you. There is a heart and a brokeness to every Nation, even where you are. They need a Saviour. They need to not only hear His name but know His name. There is so much more to these Countries and people than what the eyes can see. Devastation is everywhere. Our world is broken. It’s crumbling, and many of us are just standing around watching it fall.
When are we going to rise up and take a stand and do something about the world around us? Are we willing to give up the little things to make a difference in the world around us? No matter how old you are, where you are or what you are doing, you can make a difference and make a change in this world. I’m not referring to going Green. I’m talking about doing the things we like to do that we do not need to do, yet we do because we don’t want to do what God calls us to do. He has called us to be his hands and feet – His servants. To put our ways aside. To surrender everything to Him. To follow Him willingly.
There is so much to know, love and experience about the world around us – the world God created. There’s more to life than the town or city you’ve grown up in, the people you know, church you attend and place you work. There’s a giant world out there that needs love, hope and forgiveness.
