I figured on the day that I begin my adventure on the World Race; I can begin by telling everyone a story. The story of how I got here; the story of how I chose the World Race, or more precisely, how God changed my heart for international missions.
This story doesn’t have a solid beginning. For as long as I can remember God has always given me a heart for ministry. From my days in youth group, I was passionate about letting other people know about my love for the Lord and about how Jesus’ sacrifice changes everything for them. However, for many years, I was unsure how I could use this desire to impact the world as a whole. I knew there were international missions organizations, but I never saw myself as a missionary. I believed that God calls a very specific person to missions, and I was not this person.
My identity was wrapped up in my intelligence. I knew that I had a desire to use my ability to use math and science to make an impact on the world. When I prayed, I would find myself thinking that a career in the engineering field would not only make sense, but it would also give me an opportunity to reach a select group of people in the engineering world that would otherwise not be interested in a relationship with the Lord. I started college at Penn State with this goal: get a degree and begin a career to bring Jesus to the engineers. Sounds good, right? Well, not exactly.
You see, while I did have those goals in mind, my intentions were not exactly pure. You see, I was looking at how I could serve the Lord through an American perspective. In the United States, we sometimes tend to think, “How can I serve God while making the least sacrifice possible?” The issue is entitlement. We sometimes think, “I worked for it, therefore, it’s mine.” And for me, the pride of working for a top technology company, making a lot of money, and fulfilling the “American Dream” was very eye-catching.
But when Jesus calls His disciples, He tells them they must “deny themselves, take up their cross, and follow me” (Mathew 16:24). He also tells the rich-young ruler to sell everything he has to the poor and come follow Him. While possessions in and of themselves are not evil, our desire and love for them cannot overshadow our love for the One who gave them to us. And Jesus makes it very clear: “You cannot serve both God and money.”
This was an issue with my heart for a long time. While I don’t see myself as a materialistic person, I knew that at the end of my college career would allow me to start making more money than my parents ever did combined. I knew this would be a huge temptation. I also knew that the pride of feeling as though I was “better” or “smarter” than everyone else was definitely not of God. These lies were from the enemy to draw me away from the things of Kingdom. And God has bigger plans for my life.
And as I went through college, God began to transform my heart. My identity was no longer wrapped up in how I could use my intelligence to serve God. The Lord began to show me my value as an adopted son. He began to take my desire away from the success and fame being an accomplished engineer, and began to draw me toward Himself. And when my heart began to align with His, I began to desire things with an eternal perspective.
Through my years in campus ministry, I learned that God’s heart is not for money and success. He wants His name to be lifted high and to be exalted among the nations. This is where I could serve with Him. Evangelism and discipleship became cornerstones of my faith, and I knew He wanted me to partner with Him and make Him known.
Do you know that there are over seven billion people in the world? God loves each and every one of them. Furthermore, there are millions (if not billions) of people who have never heard the story of Jesus. When I came to grips with the need for international missions, God began to grow my heart for people – His people. Many of whom are living in darkness and NEED to hear His message of grace and forgiveness.
And now here I am: going out with reckless abandon (well, not entirely reckless…I’ll try to be safe!). And I am looking forward to the impact on the world we are going to make. The Holy Spirit has gone before us, and is already at work in the people who we will be ministering to, but now I get to be a part of that! I’m so excited to watch what He does during the next eleven months!
