Last month we celebrated women in missions, and this month we’re giving it up for our guys! We’re having fun with images of mustaches, muscles, pipes, and the iconic World Race beard. We’ve poured over blogs from men on the field along with those of the thankful ladies serving beside them. They’re stories of fun and freedom, challenge and compassion, honor and humility. And the lasting impression we’re left with is a man who looks like Jesus.
Today we’re sharing the second letter, an exhortation from Steve Basden, director of the World Race and Passport. This letter is written to young men who want more, who want to look like Jesus.
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When I was in my thirties, the Lord began telling me there was more of Him to be experienced, and I wasn’t going to experience that more unless some things changed.
He planted a desire within me to look like Jesus.
So I made some changes and began a journey in which I’ve had to suffer a bit, sacrifice a lot, and learn some lessons about how God grows us.
Too many believers live their lives under the impression that they should never endure seasons of suffering and sacrifice. They pray for God to make them look more like Jesus. And then, when God brings the circumstances meant to produce the change they desire, they opt out, because they don’t have a theology of pain and suffering. We say we want to look more like Jesus, but we don’t realize, in order to look more like him, we have to look less like ourselves.
The process of looking less like yourself and more like Jesus is painful.
In this process, God walked me through several painful seasons, dark winters of my life. In those seasons, the temptation to do whatever I could to change my circumstances was intense. However, God graciously shared something critical to my ability to sit in the pain and not opt out of his process.
As I was preparing to come to Adventures in Missions, I was in a painful season. What I believed were God-approved plans had fallen apart, and I was disillusioned, disappointed, hurt, and angry. As I considered the options available to me to ease the pain, God put a picture in my mind.
It was a picture of me sitting in a classroom. The door was open, indicating it was up to me whether I remained in the classroom or not. God used this image to let me know there were some lessons I needed to learn.
I knew if I left the classroom, one of two things would happen. Either I would find myself back in the classroom at some point in the future, or I would demonstrate to God that I was unwilling to learn the lessons He was attempting to teach me. And He would conclude that my prayers asking to be transformed into the likeness of Christ were not sincere prayers. So I stayed in and learned some important things about God and about myself.
In the painful seasons since then, the message of the classroom has helped me to be willing to sit in the pain and learn the lesson God is trying to teach. As a man, it is tremendously important that you be willing to let God teach you. If you’re looking for comfort and ease, then don’t ask God to make you look like Jesus. If you do ask God to make you look like Jesus, then don’t wuss out when He shows up with a situation or circumstance intended to allow you to do just that.
If we, as men, aren’t willing to sit in the classroom and learn the lessons, then we won’t grow.
When we don’t grow, the people we love will not grow, in so far as their growth depends upon our spiritual maturity (wives, children). It’s one thing to fail ourselves. It’s another to fail those we’ve been given stewardship over.
My encouragement to you is to echo James’ exhortation to rejoice when you fall into various trials. Be willing to sit in them and learn the lessons God is trying to teach. Don’t opt out. By His stripes we are healed.
The stripes we endure in the process of being transformed into the likeness of Christ are for the healing of ourselves and others.
You said you wanted to look like Jesus, right?
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Do you want more? Are you willing to brave the uncomfortable and the unknown to become who God created you to be? Take the first step. Check out the July 2014 routes.
Photos via Steve Basden, Jenna Harvey, Lacee Peloquin
