love: the ultimate catalyst

well, I leave for Jakarta and Nepal in less than two days and I'm filled with this overwhelming desire to squeeze everything I can out of every minute that I have there. It is going to be unbearably hot and humid and rainy, not to mention the fact that we have to wear long sleeves and pants to protect us from mosquitoes. I know the tendency will be to give in to my emotions regarding the circumstances, but I just don't want to. God has promised so much if we will just press in, push through. I want to squeeze everything that He has for me out of this time.

I was just thinking the other day about what amazing friends I have. I have friends that are changing the world because they choose to go out of their comfort zone and stay there for the sake of others. Love motivates people to do crazy things. I have a friend who is romping through the most dangerous parts of Africa right now to bring tangible, practical aid to people who literally have no hope. He spent his Christmas eve night riding in an open air truck through Rwanda, picking up a pregnant woman in labor and rushing her to the hospital. How crazy is that? It's not comfortable, for sure, but it brings more joy than I'm sure he could ever imagine sitting at home watching TV. My friend Joey spent his entire summer in Uganda fighting for the rights of the forgotten. Loving people deeply, experiencing something completely outside of himself. My friend Chelsea spent a few weeks in Zambia this summer loving the ultimate of the unloved. Children who never had a childhood, AIDS orphans, rape victims. I love that I serve a God who is infinitely more broken-hearted about these people than we ever will be. I love that He entrusts us with the task of reconciliation. My friend, Zach will spend the next six years serving in China. Building up the church there, and telling people for the first time, "You're not a hopeless case. There's a God who loves you deeply, He wants to heal your wounds and give you a life that you couldn't imagine even in your wildest dreams." That's amazing. I'm realizing more and more the heart of God for this broken world. I'm realizing more and more the desperateness of the situation. The things that I worry about, my momentary concerns are secondary. God is looking for people who will say, "Yes I've been hurt, yes, it sucked, but God has healed me, I'm going to get over it. I'm not going to let my past dictate my future. I choose to see the rest of the world around me and I choose to do something about it."

So as I get ready to leave for outreach, I'm preparing myself mentally to push through despite all odds. The more uncomfortable, the better. When I'm trekking through the Himalayas and I don't think I can make another step, I will choose the see the faces of the people in the next village, and I will keep moving. I do not want to come back the same. I want to rock these cities, these villages, with the authority and the victory that Christ won for me when he died on the cross. The blind will see, the deaf will hear, and people will be REDEEMED, reconciled, their lives reversed.