Here in the remote reaches of India, we have an exorbitant amount of free time on our hands. In that time, we’ve watched a great deal of movies, and have already run through three and a half seasons of Boy Meets World, and we’re darn proud of it.
The first movie that we watched together as a team was one of my favorites. A near reverse-Orwellsian take on 1984, as we see the story of one man observed by the whole world. This of course is the 1998 hit, The Truman Show.
As I watched, I realized that the main character, Truman Burbank, goes through many struggles that we as Christians put ourselves in.
The basic plot-line is that Truman’s life has been completely staged, though Truman himself is unaware of it. Since birth, he has been broadcast across the globe, and every moment of his life is an illusion, simply constructed to garner higher ratings. The idea of the show’s producers is to keep Truman caged inside of this enormous stage, and allow the viewing audience to see his life unfold.
However, Truman is born with a tremendous sense of adventure. He has a great desire to see the world, and explore new and exciting places… but that would put an end to the show, so the creators stifle his desires by putting up emotional and physical roadblocks anytime Truman attempts to leave his hometown.
Truman’s desires only grow stronger, and the villainous director tortures him to the point of death, just to keep him from realizing his strongest desires; and in the end… well, you’ll have to rent the movie yourself and find out. Bonus: it’s rated PG, so it’s fun for the whole family.
But the point that I realized is this: I truly think that many young believers within the church carry similar desires to what Truman went through. We may have a sense of adventure and exploration, or the passion to see new things and meet new people.
When we’re young, these desires seem attainable, but the older we get, the more we talk ourselves out of the possibility of life’s adventures. We convince ourselves that there are more important things like jobs, money, success, and comfort that need to take precedent, then we will travel later… only later never comes. We wait years and years for the right time, and eventually our whole life has passed us by, and we never allowed ourselves to realize our full potential.
I truly think that this whole cycle is a plan from the enemy, as a way to wreak havoc upon the mission field. He lets us tell ourselves that worldly goods should be more important, and that there’s plenty of time in the future to serve the Lord.
But much like Truman, we can’t allow ourselves to buy into that lie. We need to push ourselves to the bitter end, and fight the enemy at every front, so that we can truly understand victory in Christ, and spread His truth to the nations.
Let it be known that I also understand the necessity of “go-ers” and “senders” within the mission field. I know that travel and adventure isn’t for everyone, and I know that every single person in the mission field has a strong team of supporters back home who are willing to be senders, by allocating their funds to the field of missions.
Even if the World Race or Adventures in Missions isn’t the right place for you, please continue to seek out what God does have planned for you, and what He wants in your life.
But if you have this desire in your spirit that Truman saw inside himself, don’t let yourself suppress it. I strongly believe that an adventurous spirit is a gift from God, and using that gift to reach the nations and glorify Him is the best way to put that gift to good use.
Shameless plug: I’ve been truly blessed by dozens of financial and spiritual supporters, who have allowed me to reach the point of being fully-funded within my World Race account. However, I still have a need for personal expenses in the field, as well as assistance with my student-loans, which are being paid off on a monthly basis. If you would like to give me a non-tax deductible hand in this area, please send donations to 2107-148th St, Albion, IA, 50005. My powers of attorney, aka mom and dad, can handle the finances from that point. From the beginning, I’ve said that I can’t get through this year on my own, and this is just one more area where I need blessings from our Heavenly Father, as He works through those around me.
