The Burden of Freedom

Land of the free, home of the brave. America. Where life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness are core values. America. Where you can live out your dream to become rich and famous. America. Where you can find pantyhose under the same roof as car tires and a McDonalds. America.

I wish I could describe how often I hear the phrase "we are so blessed to live in a country as great as this." My question to you is simple: Are we? Sure atheists, agnostics, lukewarm Christians, and other non-believers have it pretty easy. If you want one place on Earth where you could tune out the glaring question of "Who created the universe?" where better than here? If you want the one place on Earth to make yourself as busy as possible and become completely focused on nothing but the meaningless, where else? If you want to live as comfortably as possible, this is the place. The worst part in all of this is that the American Church does not look any different than the world. In fact, I think the church in this country is partly to blame for the state of America.

We want salvation now! 

Well, okay- just check that box, say that prayer and you're in!

Woo that was easy. Now let me get back to my life.

I mean this is what's being preached right? I saw it just the other day on Easter. The preacher who baptized me when I was 12, happened to be in Columbus while the church I was attending held an Easter service. I was shocked to see him and could not wait to go up to him and say, "YOU BAPTIZED ME!" It was a really surreal moment in time as I thought about this man who had started my Christian journey...but then it hit me. That was not the beginning of my faith, that was years and years from truth. I became a believer in 2009...I was baptized in 1998. I won't put blame on this man for baptizing me at that age even though I had no relationship with God, however, it did make me wonder. Following the program, my baptismal preacher got up to the front of the Church and spoke to the non-believers in the room and confirmed my suspensions:

"It's simple! As simple as A-B-C. A: Accept Jesus into your heart. B: Believe that Jesus died on the cross for you. C- Pray. Pray that you may do his will. Now if you have done those things tonight, I invite you to share your decision to believe in Jesus Christ with us. If you'll just tear off that perforated edge there and check that box and put it in the offering plate, we just want to know what decision you made."

Man. Here is the man that dunked me under water. Here is the man that stood before me when I was a child, preaching the Word of God. And here I was... absolutely distraught with disappointment. Then I began to think of the what ifs: What if he had preached real Gospel? What if he had truly taught me the Word? Would things have been different? Could I have wasted less time? Could I have known God prior to 2009? It is so much bigger than those personal questions, of course. This man is a snapshot of what is wrong with the Church in this country.  So many pastors only give sermons on love and on getting to heaven. What if love isn't the point? What if getting to heaven isn't the point? What if God is the point? (He is.)

It has taken me years to learn the little bit of Gospel I know. To realize my part in this world. To awaken from the slumber of (at least) 20 years of being lukewarm (aka: a non-believer). Salvation does not happen from one prayer or a checked box. Salvation does not come easy. Salvation does not mean I will become rich and famous. Salvation does not mean everything will go right in my life. Salvation is not about getting to Heaven. Salvation does not get me anything... but GOD! That is salvation. God. Is. Salvation.

This country is beautiful, big, and bold. In it we have freedoms- so many freedoms. We are blessed by those freedoms but we are also burdened by them. It is so easy to lose focus of our calling in this world. It is so easy for us to become a part of the world. So easy in fact, that it has become an integral part of the American Church and in the sermons being taught on Sundays. I pray everyday for revival and for the Church to awaken. It is our job to live every minute of every day for the glory of God. It is our duty to give everything we have for the poor, widowed and orphaned. And it should be our want and desire to spread his glory, his name, and his Word to all nations, tribes and peoples. This country says thats radical. God says thats Biblical. Who do you serve?

“‘I know your works: you are neither cold nor hot. Would that you were either cold or hot! So, because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth. For you say, I am rich, I have prospered, and I need nothing, not realizing that you are wretched, pitiable, poor, blind, and naked. I counsel you to buy from me gold refined by fire, so that you may be rich, and white garments so that you may clothe yourself and the shame of your nakedness may not be seen, and salve to anoint your eyes, so that you may see. Those whom I love, I reprove and discipline, so be zealous and repent. Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me. The one who conquers, I will grant him to sit with me on my throne, as I also conquered and sat down with my Father on his throne. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.’”

Revelation 3:15-22

What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him? If a brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacking in daily food, and one of you says to them, “Go in peace, be warmed and filled,” without giving them the things needed for the body, what good is that? So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.

But someone will say, “You have faith and I have works.” Show me your faith apart from your works, and I will show you my faith by my works. You believe that God is one; you do well. Even the demons believe—and shudder!

James 2:14-19

Drew

The Majesty of Rain

I work in an office. In my office is a window. In this office, things can get hectic. When things get hectic, I look out my window. This is my window:

My window provides me with a lot of great abilities. When I gaze out this window I can:

• check the weather,
• make time stand still or, more often, 
• make time speed up,
• people watch (nothing is better on a college campus),
• transport myself somewhere else (mentally, of course),
• call Parking Services on illegally parked vehicles,
• watch Parking Services ticket illegally parked vehicles

More than anything though, my window provides me a moment. In the midst of busy schedules, lack of time, and a frenetic workplace I tend to forget to take moments. Moments just to gaze, to think, to relax, and to appreciate. It is strange how blessings tend to make me not notice...my blessings.

Today I took a moment.

Ever since getting back from Haiti, I have been in a funk. After talking with several people, I was assured that this was only natural and that so many people go through similar struggles. I went to a third world country, I saw poverty, I saw hunger, I saw illness... I saw need. Then I came back to America, and stared in disgust at our country's overuse of everything and our absolute propensity to waste practically everything we have been given on ourselves and our pleasure. More than anything, however, I felt useless- my favorite phrase lately has been "treading water", staying afloat but not going anywhere. It has been a long couple of weeks. Today was different though. Today I took a moment to appreciate where I live, what I'm doing, and where I'm going. 

As I walked to work this morning in the pouring rain, which I was completely unprepared for, I was frustrated at the weather and my weather app for not informing me of the impending deluge. Back in my office and a little more dry, however, I found myself staring out my window in absolute amazement at the rain. I am a history major through and through. I do not understand what causes rain beyond the simple words of evaporation and condensation. Maybe that tends to make me appreciate rain, simply because I can not even fathom the process that makes water fall from the sky. It was just a moment though. A time to appreciate something that I so often do not appreciate and most of the time actually loathe. It was also a reminder. It was a reminder that if my God is great enough to create and control the weather, he is great enough to live for in all contexts. So often, I feel that my only way to live out my faith is by going overseas, giving out food and playing with orphans. I, and we, have a purpose here too. Sometimes it is less noticeable and maybe less attractive, but it is a purpose all the same. 

I am so thankful for moments like these and for the countless blessings I forget about or miss on a daily basis. 

“Worthy are you, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they existed and were created.”

Revelation 4:11

All glory to God.

But God...

When describing my story of salvation to people, I inevitably always find myself uttering two words: "but God". I start with where I was in my life, explaining the struggles and the path up to the point of change- all the things in life that happened and would have continued to happen, "but God". I then explain my struggles of unwillingness to fully awaken to his love, my want and desire to submit to the world, and my complete ineptitude to understand the totality of forgiveness, which all sounds pretty dire before those two words get uttered just once more..."but God". Looking back on my life, it amazes me how much different my life could have been without God, and how much better it is because of God. This past week I was blessed with the opportunity to spend the most meaningful six days of my life in Thomazeau, Haiti. I honestly had no idea what to expect and even had questions if this was the right time and place for me to go. Now sitting in America, back at work, back at school, I have no doubts about God's timing or his ability to work in amazing ways. I could have gone to Haiti and returned the same, I could have gone to Haiti and worked half-heartedly, I could have gone to Haiti and not fallen in love with orphans, I could have.... but God.

 

Most people will probably assume that I am simply on a spiritual high after taking my first overseas mission trip, and maybe that is partly true. However, I doubt that anyone would write off their first trip as insignificant or inconsequential. Haiti was one of those experiences that I will keep in the front of my mind for a very long time- something that will push me to do more moving forward and to become complacent in our comfortable country much less. I would not say Haiti changed me as much as it confirmed all that I already believed. One of those main beliefs is that this is a broken world "but God". We saw terrible sights in this country: poverty, starvation, lack of clean water, lack of adequate housing, lack of clothing. 35% of the country is starving. Starving. Not simply hungry-quite literally, dying for lack of food. I saw a man have a seizure in front of my eyes, old men and women dying with untreatable illnesses, and kids who had never eaten a piece of meat. All of these sights would have been enough for anyone to ask the age old question, "If God is so great, why does he allow suffering?" I think that question is superficial and lacks an understanding of the power and sovereignty of God and also fails to see where God is working, moving, and providing for his people. The first part of that last statement is a powder keg of religious doctrine, so let's focus on the second part.

Haiti is a pretty miserable place, but for God. I have already told you a good bit of what we saw while we were there but there is more to that story. Haiti is also a desert. It is hot, filled with cacti, and has a seemingly unending crust of rocky ground. According to local legend (how much of this is based on absolute fact is still being researched) Haiti was not always this way. A long time ago when the Haitian people, a colony of slaves from West Africa, declared their independence from France, the French obliged with only one stipulation: cut down all of the islands trees and send them to Europe so that palaces, buildings, and ships could be built. The Haitians agreed and the first and only slave colony to gain their independence was formed and Haiti was founded. Obviously, cutting down an entire ecosystem has consequences and deforestation occurred, leaving the Haitian soil rocky and (mostly) without farmable land. This story seems to have basis in fact, as there really are no trees over a couple years old in Haiti and by the fact that right across the border in the Dominican Republic, sits a lush, green land filled with rain forests. The Haitian's were dealt a tough hand before the massive earthquake that rocked the island in 2010, making an already bad situation much worse. Through all of the destruction and desolation that is Haiti, however, was the complete and overwhelming presence of God.

He was there in the landscapes:

He was there in the smiles and spirits of orphans:

He was there when 1,200+ received medical care.

He was there when 700+ starving families received food.

He was there every morning and every night when we had the opportunity to play with the children.

He was there when we were not at our best.

He was there when we did not know what to say.

This trip would not have been humanly possibly, but God. God was there and God was moving and God was changing and God was calling. God willing, our nation and our generation will continue to wake up to the cause of the widowed and orphaned, to the starving and lost. We have all been called, we have all been commissioned (Matthew 28:18-20, Mark 16:15). So often we forget there are enormous struggles in the world- that orphans go unclothed and that the poor starve to death. It is so easy to forget all of these truths behind the safe borders of our country (which we have been unbelievably blessed with) and long lists of "to-do's" that preoccupy us with the meaningless. I am as guilty as the all the rest, of course. And I am sure that in the very near future, I too will forget and slip for a time into the comforts of the world. All of this would worry me if not for two simple words... but god. But God will awaken me. Just as he always has. Just as he will awaken my generation or a generation to come to bring his truth and goodness to all nations, to all people, and to all tongues. Until then... we sojourn. We sojourn on this planet and do so solely to spread his glory, until we end our journey on Earth and find our permanent residence on high.

Haiti is by no means a vacation spot. Most of the country lacks clean drinking water, electricity, paved roads and so on. But I find myself, sitting in the most comfortable country in the world, and would do anything to go back to Haiti. And I will...Soon.

Drew