Gratitude to the Overseer

It's like getting used to filet, then complaining when you only get flank;
like living in a mansion for free, then whining when you get moved to the pool house;
like getting paid six figures, then grumbling when you don't get a raise or bonus.

It's like being saved from eternity in hell—then moping about feeling bored, unmotivated, under appreciated, or worthless. Are you kidding me?! His grace is sufficient. His grace is the motherload!

But if when you do good and suffer for it you endure, this is a gracious thing in the sight of God. For to this you have been called, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, so that you might follow in his steps. He committed no sin, neither was deceit found in his mouth. When he was reviled, he did not revile in return; when he suffered, he did not threaten, but continued entrusting himself to him who judges justly. He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed. For you were straying like sheep, but have now returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls.
[1 Peter 2:20-25]

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Why ask God for forgiveness? Who is He to give it?

I paint a masterpiece. You then scratch/scar/scuff the product of my hard work, something of great value to me. You feel bad and want to apologize. Do you apologize to the painting, or do you apologize to its creator?

At this point, someone could point out that paintings are inanimate, whereas humans feel and experience. Shouldn't, then, the apology be re-directed to the wounded human?

Well, think of it this way: the Painter is greater than the painting; the God of the universe is greater than a human... we are only dust. Just because a specific created thing (a person) happens to be magnificent, unique, and ever so intricate, it doesn't mean that the Creator-creation relationship breaks down. It just means that the Creator is that much more greater (and, therefore, all the more worthy of being asked for forgiveness).

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One part of the claim tends to slip past us unnoticed because
we have heard it so often that we no longer see what it amounts
to. I mean the claim to forgive sins: any sins. Now unless the
speaker is God, this is really so preposterous as to be comic. We
can all understand how a man forgives offences against himself.
You tread on my toes and I forgive you, you steal my money
and I forgive you. But what should we make of a man, himself
unrobbed and untrodden on, who announced that he forgave
you for treading on other men's toes and stealing other men's
money? Asinine fatuity is the kindest description we should
give of his conduct. Yet this is what Jesus did. He told people
that their sins were forgiven, and never waited to consult all the
other people whom their sins had undoubtedly injured. He
unhesitatingly behaved as if He was the party chiefly concerned,
the person chiefly offended in all offences. This makes sense
only if He really was the God whose laws are broken and
whose love is wounded in every sin. In the mouth of any
speaker who is not God, these words would imply what I can
only regard as a silliness and conceit unrivalled by any other
character in history.

—C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity
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[FROM TIJUANA] Commanded to Go

Homes built. Orphans fed. For the people of each site we visited, our service was but a day. For some on our team, the trip was a mountaintop experience that, in sad reality, will eventually fizzle out (or even sadder, simply a notch on the belt to feel good about). I know because I've been there before myself. For a few, however, the week-long experience will go down as a pivotal point shaping life from here on out.

"Having my eyes steadily peeled open to the reality that I’ve so often managed to tune out of my life—all the suffering in the world—God wrecked my heart and propelled me to more deeply seeking His face."

That is what I reported after my first trip to Tijuana with Caravan Ministries in 2009. It was true when I wrote it, and still true to this day. But it was vague. On my second visit, already prepared for the Truthful shock-and-awe factor delivered daily by unreserved speakers, God moved me in a different—and very specific—way.

"Go, send, or disobey" (John Piper, speaking of missions) is the maxim of the ministry, and initially, I thought that the LORD's lesson for me in round two was the same as the last: stay, send, and be content. Going into the field sounds glorious; merely sending—not so sexy. You see, despite my desire to Go (the desire of my will, but not necessarily my inherent want), massive pre-Christian-incurred college loans have kept long-term missions off the table.

Here's an illustration of that presupposed lesson. On build site #3, despite wanting to wield a hammer on the casa, I decided to hang out with the chicos nearby. At first, like with missions, I felt like I was sitting on the sidelines, not doing "my part."

But as it would turn out, speeding downhill in a children's toy car with no brakes and playing soccer with those kids was the most meaningful—and fulfilling—time of the trip for me. So, what did I learn that day? Whether Sending (like I thought I was supposed to) or Going, the role should be embraced (God sees the heart).

The next day, however, I realized that although true (that sacrificially sending/intentionally mobilizing/effectively equipping is indeed a vital role within the missional body), it wasn't exactly the message that God wanted to engraft in me. When I first accepted Jesus, there was no BAM! moment like I initially thought there had to be as I was seeking for truth throughout college. When I made the decision to commit to my future bride, there was no supernatural sign giving me the green light. Many of us spend our lives this way: waiting for a sign before we act, being paralyzed in fear of failure or making the wrong decision or stepping outside of God's will (see 1 John 3:20). Well, on my last day in Mexico, God used two rock solid men ("sons of Von") to put things in perspective for me.

Brad, a stellar surfer in his day and native of southern California, had zero desire to become a missionary when he became a Christian. He had no "heart" for lost people and never saw letters in the clouds "calling" him to preach the Gospel to the ends of the earth. He was full of fear, and by his own admittance, basically a pretty bad candidate to be a missionary. What he did have though was Pastor Von, and so somewhat by transitive property, Brad had obedience to God's Word. And God's Word says this:

And Jesus came and said to them, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age." (Matthew 28:18-20)

But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth. (Acts 1:8)

Brad (who, despite his fears, spent twenty years in the jungles of Papua New Guinea, translating the Bible into the local language and planting a now-thriving church) points out that, specifically for missions, God has already said "Yes," and that we don't need to wait for Him to say it again. "Until God shuts you down, you keep going... To surrender to the crosshairs of His will means to embrace fear... There is no Plan B. Are we addicted to Plan B? If you have a Plan B, you will never be in a position to please God, though you can fool everybody else, including yourself."

You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. (1 Corinthians 6:19-20) "Worship is giving back to God that which He is worthy of... Self-preservation screams at us, and God's voice will whisper, 'you know I'm credible.'" (Brad)

Right after Brad's talk, Eddie and I shared a truck ride to our last work site, and his advice crystalized the truth resounding in my mind. He told me that our focus should not be on trying to discern God's will for our life; it should just be trying to discern God's will—period. God has already commanded us to go (push into missions, based on His Word), and only stay if we're called (meaning if He keeps closing the door on it).

Commanded to go, called to stay. Personally, I really like this refreshing mindset—it's liberating, it takes my questioning out, and makes God's answer clear.

"He is no fool who gives up what he cannot keep to gain that which he cannot lose." — Jim Elliot, missionary martyr who lost his life in the late 1950's trying to reach the Auca Indians of Ecuador

"If you found a cure for cancer, wouldn't it be inconceivable to hide it from the rest of mankind? How much more inconceivable to keep silent the cure from the eternal wages of death." — Dave Davidson

"If ten men are carrying a log — nine of them on the little end and one at the heavy end — and you want to help, which end will you lift on?" — William Borden, as he reflected on the numbers of Christian workers in the U.S. as compared to those among unreached peoples in China

When James Calvert went out as a missionary to the cannibals of the Fiji Islands, the ship captain tried to turn him back, saying, "You will lose your life and the lives of those with you if you go among such savages." To that, Calvert replied, "We died before we came here."

"The gospel is only good news if it gets there in time." — Carl F. H. Henry

All the more reason to go: And this gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come. (Matthew 24:14) He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away. (Revelation 21:4)

Take It On The Chin

The truest form of toughness is vulnerability.

Think Rocky Balboa versus Clubber Lang (aka Mr. T).

Think Jesus versus Death.

It's looking in the face of physical pain, social ill-acceptance, or spiritual stretching and saying, "OK, let's do this."

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All In, Baby

Marriage talk has arrived at our doorstep. Issues arise and inventories are taken. One such topic is where to potentially live in our first year or two of marriage. My initial focus: practicality. Leah's ideal: living alongside the poor.

Though I may have more sound doctrine on paper and have more of an intentionally evangelical mindset, she hits the nail right smack on the head (probably without even thinking about it) when it comes to living out Scripture.

Is my preference to live amongst the poor? Not really.

Did I get too comfortable somewhere along the way? Uh huh.

Do I like where my heart is at now? No.

Am I willing to dive head first into such a lifestyle anyway? Yes.

If my trust is all in with Jesus, then how can there be room for fear? He is in control—of everything—after all.

(Thanks for being my better half, mama! Blessed indeed.)

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