Hey everyone!
I'm taking a quick break from my story series to share a little of what I’ve been learning on this journey.
I remember first telling people about this crazy adventure that I was going on. 11 different countries in 11 months. “That will be such a great experience for you!”, most would say. And they were right. This has been the greatest experience of my life by far. Everyday I get to wake up with the reality of being on this crazy thing called the World Race. It has so many perks. Discovering new cultures, trying new foods all the time, experiencing crazy foreign public transportation, having people invite you into their homes constantly, taking sweet Instagram pictures all the time. It’s all been a good time, but it all pales in comparison to the real gift of this race. The true reward of the past 7 months has been.. simply.. God Himself. Every month, everyday, every moment.. I get the honor of knowing God.
Now when I say knowing God, I don’t mean knowing things about Him. How petty is that? I was stuck in this reality most of my life though. I would know so many things about this God of the bible. I could tell you about Old Testament characters, recite my favorite proverb.. I could even write you a personal creed on the doctrine of God (I did, thanks to Thoennes). Not to say that any of this is bad, but if this is the end in itself when it comes to knowing God.. then I’d burn out pretty fast from this whole Christianity thing and probably try something new. But then I look at the New Testament… and I see that Paul’s greatest prayer for most of the churches he writes to is greater knowledge of God. In Ephesians, Paul prays “that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of Glory, may give you a a spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him” (Eph 1:17).. and in his letter to the Colossian church he prays that they would “bear fruit in every good work and increase in the knowledge of God” (Col 1:10). Paul understood better than anyone that this was the gift of life! In his letter to the Philippians he told them he “counted everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus.” (Phil 3:8). Now this is not just some knowledge you gain from reading a book or two. It comes from an actual interactive relationship. This is how knowledge works in real life too. As Dallas Willard put it.. When you go to the dentist you want someone working on your teeth who has knowledge.. but not just book knowledge. You want someone who has been in the mouths of people, having interactively experienced things first hand.
Through living in community, serving and loving the poor, fighting injustices, telling people about Jesus and watching them get wide eyed at his message.. I can say that I’ve been growing in the knowledge of God like never before. But one of the main reasons that I’ve been knowing God more is because I’ve been realizing how much I need Him. I'm confronted with my own limitations daily and I’ve undeniable come face to face with my selfishness, my impatience, my hateful heart, my sin. And I’ve realized that I’m no golden boy.. and I desperately need the grace of Jesus. I desperately need His help. I can’t change myself, I can’t modify my behavior. I've tried it a few days here.. it's hopeless. In my strength I end up doing exactly what I don't want to do. So instead I'm learning to let the Spirit of Christ transform my heart in times of failure. And when you actually experience that transformation first hand.. you can’t help but praise Him.
Jesus said in the book of John that true eternal life.. the life that he came to bring us.. was found in knowing God. “And this is eternal life.. that they know you the only true God..” (John 17:3). That’s it. And I’ve learned that the phrase “eternal life” could be a bit deceiving to us westerners.. because we infer that to mean “at some point in the future when we die”. But the eternal life that Jesus is talking about isn’t reserved for the future.. it’s something we can actually start to take hold of now. So think eternal living when you think eternal life.. and see what that does to your life. It’s rocked mine.
This is eternal living.. to know God. And that is the greatest part of this race. I have access to an intimate and loving relationship with God everyday, moment by moment if I choose. I don't have to wait till heaven.. it's began here on earth now. But geography has nothing to do with choice. My journey and your journey holds the same offer from the Father.. to know Him more today. You just have to choose to trust Jesus. And it’s when we choose to trust him that we naturally seek to be more like him.
Eternal living is what we do as disciples of Christ.. it’s a life that is more concerned with what God is doing.
More concerned about finding complete satisfaction in God. More concerned about the good of others rather than the petty little dramas of our life that we tend to get so caught up in. A life that is apart of what God is doing becomes an eternal type of life. And that is what I’m after.
So although I get to go on safaris, stand on African mountain tops, jump off waterfalls, eat amazing food.. I get something far greater everyday.. I get Jesus moment by moment.
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“The critical question for our generation—and for every generation—
is this: If you could have heaven, with no sickness, and with all the
friends you ever had on earth, and all the food you ever liked, and
all the leisure activities you ever enjoyed, and all the natural beauties
you ever saw, all the physical pleasures you ever tasted, and no
human conflict or any natural disasters, could you be satisfied with
heaven, if God were not there? The gospel of Jesus Christ is not a way
to get people to heaven;
it is a way to get people to God Himself.” – John Piper.
