I watch as the dark city of Johannesburg passes by. It's five in the morning, so traffic is light and the city has the eery quietness of early morning. The last two days had passed like a dream. From stepping on the plane on Wednesday I hadn't stopped moving. I'm tired, but also strangely at peace. Being in South Africa was like coming up for a breath of air after being stuck under water. The rush and relief of the adventure reminding me that life isn't as dull as it sometimes seems. But it also reminded me of the urgency of my calling. That I cannot simply sit back and watch life go by. That there are people in the world who are in extreme need of help, now.
Since I haven't blogged in awhile I guess I should give some background on life. After getting back from DTS a few months ago things seem to fade back to how they had been before I left. On a spiritual level I was at a much better place but in the natural sense life almost seemed to pick up right where I left it. I went back to two of the jobs I had had before I left and hung out with pretty much the same group of friends. I think as humans we naturally gravitate towards what we know and thats what happened. It wasn't necessarily what I wanted, to be living the same life I had been, but it was the most convenient. The danger is that when the physical goes back to how it was it is often hard to keep the spiritual from drifting pack in that same direction. As the months went by I began to lose a lot of my passion and fire for God. I simply wanted to live a comfortable life and get through this season as quickly as possible.
I believed the lie that I could be a Christian and comfortable at the same time. The truth is the moment we make our chief desire in life comfort, we reject the life that Jesus calls us to. A life of total surrender. A life that will call us to go to the uncomfortable places. That will call us to say the uncomfortable things, and to do the uncomfortable works. A life that is spent in complete reliance and faith in Him. The irony is that this kind of life is the only hope we have of finding true comfort.
When I went to South Africa I was forced to look at a world that made me a bit uncomfortable. Because it forced me to see a world of poverty and pain. A world where people live with the constant threat of hunger, violence, and homelessness. A world where comfort would seem to be unattainable. And yet I saw people who were comforted by the Creator of the universe, and that was more than enough. Even though their stomachs were not always full, a roof was not always over their heads and they did not live in safety, they spoke with joy about the love of God. About His faithfulness and provision. I was given a small taste of physical poverty. But saw the abundance of spiritual wealth.
The truth is that Christianity is not about being comfortable, its about being radical. Radical in love, hope, joy, and faith. It means waking up every day and saying "Your will be done today Father." That is not a very comfortable way to live. Because it takes all the control that we seek in our lives and throws it into the hands of God. Yet I think it is in a lifestyle lived like this that we find joy and peace. Peace in knowing that we can rely on Jesus for everything we need and that though we may be hungry, homeless, abused, and poor, He will always walk right beside us. Comforting us in the moments of pain and bringing joy that is unimaginable even in the face of extreme need.
Since I haven't blogged in awhile I guess I should give some background on life. After getting back from DTS a few months ago things seem to fade back to how they had been before I left. On a spiritual level I was at a much better place but in the natural sense life almost seemed to pick up right where I left it. I went back to two of the jobs I had had before I left and hung out with pretty much the same group of friends. I think as humans we naturally gravitate towards what we know and thats what happened. It wasn't necessarily what I wanted, to be living the same life I had been, but it was the most convenient. The danger is that when the physical goes back to how it was it is often hard to keep the spiritual from drifting pack in that same direction. As the months went by I began to lose a lot of my passion and fire for God. I simply wanted to live a comfortable life and get through this season as quickly as possible.
I believed the lie that I could be a Christian and comfortable at the same time. The truth is the moment we make our chief desire in life comfort, we reject the life that Jesus calls us to. A life of total surrender. A life that will call us to go to the uncomfortable places. That will call us to say the uncomfortable things, and to do the uncomfortable works. A life that is spent in complete reliance and faith in Him. The irony is that this kind of life is the only hope we have of finding true comfort.
When I went to South Africa I was forced to look at a world that made me a bit uncomfortable. Because it forced me to see a world of poverty and pain. A world where people live with the constant threat of hunger, violence, and homelessness. A world where comfort would seem to be unattainable. And yet I saw people who were comforted by the Creator of the universe, and that was more than enough. Even though their stomachs were not always full, a roof was not always over their heads and they did not live in safety, they spoke with joy about the love of God. About His faithfulness and provision. I was given a small taste of physical poverty. But saw the abundance of spiritual wealth.
The truth is that Christianity is not about being comfortable, its about being radical. Radical in love, hope, joy, and faith. It means waking up every day and saying "Your will be done today Father." That is not a very comfortable way to live. Because it takes all the control that we seek in our lives and throws it into the hands of God. Yet I think it is in a lifestyle lived like this that we find joy and peace. Peace in knowing that we can rely on Jesus for everything we need and that though we may be hungry, homeless, abused, and poor, He will always walk right beside us. Comforting us in the moments of pain and bringing joy that is unimaginable even in the face of extreme need.
