Date: Wednesday, December 5, 2012
Day 140 of 142
So....remember when I can't count? Yeah, apparently I can graduate from Wheaton College, IL, a premiere Christian liberal arts university and simple addition/counting can be too hard for me. haha. Welp, as they say, "Sucks to suck."
In all seriousness though, with two days left in my time here in Asia, what sort of take away should I draw from this experience? Perhaps a confession is needed. It's all too easy to say when I get back, "Look at me, look at all that I've done, praise me." Though, it might be better to make it sound less self-righteous; the effect is the same even if the words are softened. Many, I'll include myself in this generalization, take their experiences overseas as a point of exaltation. It's a tight rope to walk: encouraging others to take steps of faith within their God-given calling and turning it around and making our missions trips a point of praise and chest-pumping. Church, School, and Friends sometimes get it wrong. Missions is not about going places. It's not about, what "we" can do for others. It's not even about others. Consider 1 Corinthians 10:31, "Therefore, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do everything for God's glory (HCSB)." It stands to ask do we eat, drink, play, say, enjoy, hate, and love to God's glory? Do we work for His glory? Do we spread the Gospel for His glory? Do we take tests for His glory? Do we raise children for His glory? Do we go to the restroom for His glory? Do we have sex or date for God's glory? Whatever we do, whatever God has called us to, we MUST do it for His glory. There is no other reason, than this. We were created for His glory. Our purpose on Earth is to give God glory.
As a result of this perspective, perhaps I should confess a few things. I feel that many of my blog posts have painted myself as someone who has it right, and you, the audience, have it wrong. This is not always the case, and it is a motivation that is sinful and incorrect. So instead of preaching and talking, let me show you what it means to live life to God's glory.
The first person I want you to meet is Professor John Suppe. He is a geologist from Princeton University, studying plate tectonics and their effect on the social and environmental growth of Taiwan. He is the most godly and gracious person I've ever met bar-none. Despite being supported by an Ivy League institution, he prefers to walk or bike to work. He will usually wake bright and early in the morning and begin a sort of prayer walk through Taipei on his way to work. Everyday God leads him down a different path, meeting different people, all of them unique opportunities to share with them the love of God.
The second person you should get to know is Erich Schindler. He is a church-planter from Germany. Besides serving occasionally at Truth Lutheran, He is currently working on planting a radical new type of Church. A modern day interpretation of a 1st Century house church. I know, it's not new. I know that in China this type of church is foundational to the amazing growth. To him church must be more than a mere building where self-righteous people meet during various days of the week. The Church must be dynamically involved in the lives of every community member, period. The moment the Church ceases to be a community of sinners intimately in-tune with the needs of their host community, that is the moment the Church dies. There should never be a question of who, because the Church will. Who will take care of the poor, needy and hungry? The Church will. Who will care for the widow or widower? The Church will. Who look after the orphan and abandoned? The Church will. Who will show God's love to the naked and homeless? By God's grace, the Church will. Who will love and care for those terminally sick and at death's door? The Church will. Who will have the heart to look after the servant working class and those taken advantage of? With God's help, the Church will. The Church will. The Church will. Since when did the Church lose touch and become a place where self-righteous people met and complained over what they didn't have or what God didn't do or give them? Try complaining in front of the orphan who is living without a mother and father. Try complaining in front of the widow struggling to feed 3 children with 2 jobs. Try complaining to a daughter living the nightmare of having to wake up to an uncle or father who rapes and beats her. Try complaining to the boy who is suffering from the last stages of terminal Cancer with weeks to live. Try complaining to the homeless woman who has never known the joys of a warm bed and a hot meal. Try complaining when serving the LORD in context of the needy, helpless, hopeless, and godless. In this context, whatever meaningless shortcoming that we have no longer matters, in light of the hurting and needy.
The third person you need to get to know is Joseph Graham. He's a History major from Crown College. To him every life is a story. History, then, is a montage, a kaleidoscope comprising of every individual's life story building a mosaic that displays the face of God. Everyone has a story; everyone has an experience to tell. What can we learn from past experiences? What can God teach us about Himself through history? Oh the riches of the glory of God's grace displayed in wondrous miracles worked out through broken jars of clay.
These are just three people. Three testimonies. You don't have to travel far. You don't have to travel at all. The key is the motivation. Why do we do what we do? If you are a doctor, heal the sick, give life to the dying, and serve the helpless with the grace that Christ had when he healed the sick and gave new life to the dead--for God's glory. If you are a politician, serve unfortunate of the world and give them the tools and the opportunities to improve themselves--for God's glory. If you are a lawyer, protect the innocent, serve the voiceless, and fight for justice where ever it might be violated--for God's glory. And if you are a counselor or therapist, selflessly give hope to the hopeless and the despairing, those struggling to find the will to live and exist--for God's glory. We all have our callings in life, but we have a choice to make: to live for Christ or myself. Every moment a choice, every path a fork: do I give God the glory here in this situation, do I show this individual the glory of God, or do I shut him out and turn off the light? I don't know about you, but I can't help but get excited to live life, living for God's glory.
