I feel the need to address some things. In talking with people about my upcoming journey, some things have come up that have just not set well with me. I didn’t know how to respond at the time of the conversations, but after mulling over these thoughts I believe I can now articulate what I need to say. Here are the responses to some of the questions I gotten about the World Race. I will try to answer this question graciously as I can, but please bear with me, I may get a little ranty.
You’re going to some Islamic countries… Isn’t that dangerous?
- What do you call dangerous? Do you believe that you have some sort of control over life that allows you any lesser degree of danger sitting in your arm chair reading this? Every single breath we have is a gift from God, He’s sovereign like that. I don’t have the ability to tell my heart to beat. Every second we exist is in His time frame, whether we admit that or not. To say that any one place is inherently more (or less) dangerous than another is to totally not account for GOD. That is a human way of thinking. And you know what, I get that. I get that human line of thinking because that has been my thought process going into this thing at times too. I have been scared at the implications of being a Christian missionary in a high-majority Muslim population. But the bottom line is this: my life is no longer in my hands. AND PRAISE GOD FOR THAT! Because I made a huge mess of it with my attempt at running things. I am not recklessly seeking out danger, I’m following the Lord where he leads. And if He leads me into “dangerous” places, then that’s where I’m going. Isaiah 41:8-10, Psalm 5:11-12, Psalm 20, Psalm 46, Psalm 121, Psalm 137:7-8, 2 Samuel 22, Psalm 23 Read these verses and KNOW that our God is a protector and a deliverer.
- So what if it is? We have to combat this American, pagan, idea that as Christians we are called to a degree of worldly comfort. Being a follower of Christ is NOT about going to church and telling your coworkers about Jesus and living a good moral life and having a nice 401k to retire off of. I want to tell you a story about a hero of mine in the faith. His name is Nabeel Quereshi, he grew up a son of devout Muslim missionaries, and converted to Christianity from Islam in college. Making this statement of faith, however, cost him everything. His family, his friends, his plan for his future: everything except his life. He told us that after his conversion, he prayed that God would kill him and end this hardship he was suffering for his new faith. God’s answer to Him has greatly impacted how I view my own life. “No”, he heard God say, “because this wasn’t about you, it’s about Me”. Isn’t that true? Do we believe that? As a follower of Christ I have been justified and redeemed! My name is written in the book of life! I am covered! But if we really believe the truth about heaven and hell, then it should affect our attitudes towards those in this life who have not heard the good news. As Nabeel puts it, “There are billions of people alive in the world today who need to hear the gospel. If you are a Christian, it means you are going to live for eternity. It means that you are taken care of. If you trust what Jesus did on the cross for you, you will be fine forever. But your neighbor who does not know Christ, his or her needs are infinitely greater than yours.” We should be emboldened by the fact that we have this kind of security in Christ.
- Jesus’s call is a call to die. To die to yourself, your flesh daily. And sometimes, the call to give your life for your faith. The 11 apostles were all martyred, save John who was boiled alive and somehow lived long enough to see and write the Revelation (I think I would have rather taken a stoning). But that is the reality. And because of those men, we have the gospel today. Do I have some sort of hero complex or death wish? Absolutely not. Do I want to die? No, but when that time comes (and it comes for all of us) my prayer is that I will have “endured to the end” like Jesus talks about in Matthew 10. My point is this: Jesus never called anyone to a comfortable life. Quite the opposite actually, he turned away anyone who wasn’t committed to Him first and foremost. Go read the gospels. So this trip, regardless of what happens, is a denial of self and selfish desires of security and comfort to pursue the one who saved me from that self. We are not going out seeking danger, we are going out to seek the lost! Before I get too preachy, let me take a step back. I wish I could live this kind of committed lifestyle every day. Do I? Hardly, I am selfish more often than not and much more concerned about my interests than His most of the time. But this is who I strive to be, and this is the level of commitment that I believe God desires for all of us. Because the more we lean into Him, and take Him up on his Word, the more of Him we get, the deeper that relationship grows. I am excited how the Lord teaches me to die to myself and to trust him more on this trip.
So to sum it all up, when you ask me, is it dangerous? Well, it might be. That is out of my control, but I know the One who holds me in His hands, and I’m 100% OK letting Him lead me where He wills.
