Excitement Abounds!!!
Before we get to next week though I get to have a whole day with Steve tomorrow. I know I'm talking about our time together a lot but you have to realize.... it's been sparse lately and so I'm soaking up every moment. We are going to go do a little shopping for jackets which we both desperately need... this whole losing weight thing has left us both with a pretty baggy wardrobe! And then we're going to go and just bum around Williamsburg for a large chunk of the day. We're going to be tourists in a place I've been my whole life and yet we barely ever make it to. We have no plan other than to go and walk and enjoy the day. It's supposed to be amazing weather tomorrow!! Neither Steve or I are huge Halloween fans (we don't think it's wrong just not a holiday we get really into) so it will be nice to start fall off with being outdoors, together and enjoying something we haven't done in years. Thanks for the suggestion Ken!As I'm typing all of this David Platt is in the background via his audio book "Radical" A few minutes ago he read a part of his book where he talks about how so many Christians view missions as something a few are called to but not most. That saddens me so much because I know that statement is true. I see people on a regular basis who say to me, "I'm just not called to missions." That is so untrue! Jesus didn't say "I'd like a small percentage of you to go and make fishers of me" No he simply said "go". That doesn't mean we all are called to go to the furthest places in the world but why can't we? Every time I've gone to a people group or place where the gospel was not prevalent or not known at all, those are the times I have had God reveal himself to me in such a dramatic and real way that I came home changed, renewed and sure of his love and truth.
The most recent experience I remember was when I was in Sudan 2 years ago. We were 5 women in a completely Muslim area. Every morning there was a call to prayer and even that didn't make me feel how small I was until one night. I got sick, fever, nausea, vomiting, the works. I felt so awful and was slightly delirious. I remember stumbling out of the bedroom in the middle of the night while everyone else was asleep. It was too hot in the bedroom. I laid in the common room, on a bench and just curled in a ball quietly crying. Suddenly the call to prayer began. There was a mosque right down the street. I cannot put into words how small I suddenly felt. I began to feel how much darkness and oppression was all around us. Sitting there sick, feverish and alone I realized once again how I am nothing without Jesus. I realized how great his love and power is. I realized how much I need him. I laid there and quietly cried out to him over and over. The longer I said his name the more peace I felt. After awhile I went back to my room and fell asleep. I woke the next morning not 100% but with a complete knowledge that I was a child of Jesus. I was loved and that those around me, those I had met were lost and headed to hell if no one tells them.... so how can we say we are not called to missions?just my thoughts for today...
love to all!
Comments
just being around muslims worshiping made you judge that religion as dark and oppressive?
i mean, let's not forget how southern baptists feel about women in the ministry.
you're also being a bit unfair and judgmental with regard to missions. the impression you're giving is that because you've had the opportunity to visit other countries, everyone should. this is a common attitude among christians, i've found.
of course there are many economical reasons why most people can't do mission work in remote locations. if someone does not feel called to missions - and i've known many, many wonderful examples of christians who would describe themselves in that way - she should not be looked down upon as having any less fervent of a faith. christianity is not merit-based; it's not girl scouts. moreover, what makes sharing your faith any less valid if it happens in your day-to-day life as opposed to sudan?
i think christians need to distance themselves from this colonialist attitude toward sharing their faith. anyone who professes to know the heart of god should be approached with apprehension. and sadly, the judgmental quality of many christians is what is communicated the loudest to the rest of the world.
incidentally, that judgmental aspect of religion is typically the defining characteristic of most religions' fundamentalists.
muslims included.
(please allow my comments to be posted - i am genuinely interested in your response)
It is not about judgment or let's use condemnation since that is what many refer to as a definition of judgment. It is about truth and love. If someone has truth then love would command they share that truth. For example: If I have the truth about a life saving drug and do not share that information about that drug with those it would save, I have judged or condemned them. I become the evil one for not sharing truth with them. Same here. If we have truth then love commands/demands that we share truth with others so that they too can have that life saving truth.
So the disagreement comes over the truth claims of Jesus Christ. That is the real issue. It is not about some colonialism.
As far as being judgmental. Your attitude on your post above is amazingly judgmental of the authors of this blog. You seem to have judged the authors and their motivations to be intolerant, therefore it seems to be ok that you are intolerant of them. How is that not judgmental of you? If you truly believe people are free to believe as they wish then why do you care what they believe? Seems to me you are the one being judgmental and intolerant and a little colonialistic here.
let me go ahead and clarify some things - i'm not trying to judge anyone for anything. just calling attention to certain attitudes i'm seeing.
first, the equation of "judgment" and "condemnation" requires a bit of semantic acrobatics, but we'll go ahead. true, it requires a judgment to judge a judgmental opinion as judgmental! but i fear we're getting a bit bogged down in all that. we all make judgments for and against things on a day-to-day basis. but this sort of i-know-you-are-but-what-am-i response circumvents the original claim, which was that the following sentiments are a bit judgmental with regard to missions work: "I see people on a regular basis who say to me, 'I'm just not called to missions.' That is so untrue!" and "That doesn't mean we all are called to go to the furthest places in the world but why can't we?"
i mean, who is the author to know whether or not someone is called to missions? and i did indeed set out something (economical reasons) why someone might NOT be able to travel abroad to do missions work. i'm not trying to be needlessly confrontational here - i'd like to clarify that. i'm just genuinely curious.
and as far as truth and love go, i think we need to be cautious when we feel like we have "truth." to speak to the life-saving drug scenario, pharmaceuticals undergo extensive market testing. if i am prescribed antibiotics for a bad sinus infection, it is because the particular antibiotics being prescribed to me have been tested and proven to eliminate the specific bacteria that are causing my sinus infection. it's empirical knowledge. the same tests can be run to determine the effectiveness over and over again, with the same results.
the problem with feeling like you have the market cornered on eternal truth is that when you interact with others, it is through that filter, which does not always allow for genuine human interaction. i have the truth. let me ask this person if he has the truth. hmm. he doesn't. well, it would be wrong of me to deny him the truth, so let me tell him about this truth i've got.
because a group of people like, say, muslims, for instance, believe just as much that they also have the truth! and as nobody can report back after death and say, "yep, guys, we were right/wrong!" then everyone has to base their lives on...faith. in one thing or another.
but with a drug, prescribed for me when i'm sick, i KNOW it's going to work. if it doesn't, then i need to go back and have the doctor figure out why. maybe my immune system requires something stronger. maybe this strain of bacteria is resistant to this antibiotic. either way, it is possible to pin down and fix.
look, i'm not trying to be insensitive here. faith enriches life. it gives us comfort. if someone asks us why we are peaceful or happy and it is because of what we believe spiritually, i think that's a wonderful occasion to have a conversation about it. but it's important to be able to delineate between what we know and what we believe. and this is the problem with fundamentalism of any stripe. it confuses belief with knowledge, and a lot of times, this precipitates some really upsetting things.
for instance, it alarms me that the author feels that "most people that want to debate [religion] only want to be heard and don't have any interest in what you believe or the truth."
in my experience, asking questions of and/or challenging religion (or anything, really) brings about solutions. answers. the author's statement reflects a cynicism that seems to not fit with such a strong desire to share something with me out of love. and rather than taking offense to that opinion, it may be wise to examine why someone may feel that way, adjust the statement, and bring about understanding.
what the statement tells me is that the author is only interested in the listener (or reader) hearing her beliefs - the truth - and agreeing and/or assuming those beliefs also.
which is not how most people converse, you know?