Generosity to Generosity

I was watching Muppets Christmas carol on Friday night with my family. In the movie there is a scene at the end where Scrooge gives a generous donation to Beaker and Bunsen Honeydew. After Scrooge whispers his intended donation, Beaker and Bunsen get very quiet. Then, solemnly, Beaker takes the red scarf from around his neck and hands it to Scrooge. Scrooge gratefully takes the scarf as their token of gratitude.

I have to admit I got a little teary watching the scene on Friday night. I could identify with Beaker. What do you give to those who have given so much to you? I was still reeling (and continue to reel) from the generosity of those who have made it possible for me to serve in Thailand. Getting the news on Thursday that my start-up costs were more than covered and I was free to buy my ticket was a beautiful Christmas gift.

Each gift toward Thailand has a story. There was the young couple that went online the last night of their honeymoon to donate to my start up costs and officially bring me to 100%. I was humbled by the college student who had heard me speak the weekend before and decided to participate financially. I received a beautiful card from a young woman who has been watching my life from the edges and decided to participate in my life financially. There was a gift from a dear friend from grad school. I received gifts from fellow YFC missionaries. I scroll through the names and see long-time family friends, former baby-sitters, missionary heroes, former students, dear friends, and my much-loved family.

The gifts I have received are each one precious and overwhelming to me. Each relationship is so special to me. With each one, I just want to bless back. I want to give from my resources. My mom reminds me that with the gifts I have received I am going to have the opportunity to bless the Thai orphans who will live next door to me, my fellow Asia Pacific staff, the Thai students I will teach ESL to, the EMBARK interns, my TCK staff, my landlords, and more. So while I would love to give all who have given to me at least a “scarf”, instead I am going to pay forward the gifts that I have received to those in my Thai world.

I have been blessed. The generosity I have experienced calls me to greater generosity in my own life. I cannot by touched by this sacrificial giving without also being encouraged to more sacrificial giving in my own life.

Jesus said in Mark 4:24-25, “Listen carefully to what I am saying—and be wary of the shrewd advice that tells you how to get ahead in the world on your own. Giving, not getting, is the way. Generosity begets generosity. Stinginess impoverishes." (The Message)

Your generosity continues to beget generosity in my life. Thank you.

A Good Story

According to Donald Miller, a good story involves “a character who wants something and overcomes conflict to get it” (A Million Miles in a Thousand Years, p.51). This got me thinking about a few stories.

What is God’s story? What does He want? What conflict has He overcome to get it?

In Mark 10:45 Jesus says, “For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve others and to give his life as a ransom for many.” Peter also talks about this ransom in 1 Peter 1:18-19, “For you know that God paid a ransom to save you from the empty life you inherited from your ancestors. And the ransom he paid was not mere gold or silver. It was the precious blood of Christ, the sinless, spotless Lamb of God.”

God’s story is His creation rebelled against Him and became enslaved in sin. God wanted to restore His people to Himself, so He chose to overcome every obstacle and pay the highest price, the life of His Son Jesus, so we could be right with God.

So then I was thinking, what is my story? What do I want? What conflict am I willing to overcome to get it?

The current chapter in my story involves wanting to follow Jesus to Thailand and train others to be involved in pioneering ministry around the world. I love Paul’s words in Colossians 1:28-29 where he says, “So we tell others about Christ, warning everyone and teaching everyone with all the wisdom God has given us. We want to present them to God, perfect in their relationship to Christ. That’s why I work and struggle so hard, depending on Christ’s mighty power that works within me.” I am working very hard to overcome the obstacles that are keeping me from living out my story in Thailand, while depending on Christ’s power at work within me.

What is the story I am inviting EMBARK young leaders into? What do they want? What conflict will they overcome to get it?

Cliff Kuang of Co.Design writes about the millennial generation, currently ages 18-29, the exact age of EMBARK interns. He is writing about the struggle they are having finding employment and then highlights some potential blessings in this struggle. Cliff writes, “But maybe that's a good thing. It may be that millennials are a generation apart in one sense that hasn't shown up yet in the data: Plagued by dead-end career prospects, many seem to have turned to everything from crafts to self-improvement as a way to find meaning outside of what they do. A less materialistic, more happiness-focused generation seems like a very good thing given how obsessed America has been with simply getting more, no matter what. But it might also be that a lack of prospects makes this generation the most entrepreneurial we've ever seen--after all, innovation is usually born during times of hardship.”

This generation is struggling to find work. They are looking for meaning. This struggle is establishing some of them as creative pioneers. I want to invite the EMBARK young leaders into God’s story of ransoming the world. Their story can find meaning in God’s bigger story. There is the chance to invest their innovation to establish new strategies to reach every young person. This is the EMBARK story in my story in God’s story.

www.yfc.net/embark

Believing What He Said

“You are blessed because you believed that the Lord would do what he said” (Luke 1:45). This was the response of the angel to Mary after she committed to allow everything to happen to her as the angel had spoken. Believing God will do what He says is hard. From the beginning, it has been a battle to believe God’s word.

Genesis 3:1 says, “The serpent was the shrewdest of all the wild animals the Lord God had made. One day he asked the woman, ‘Did God really say you must not eat the fruit from any of the trees in the garden?’” Eve recounts what God said to them, but then chooses to believe the serpent’s statement instead. Eve, and the rest of us, have reaped the consequences of believing the lie ever since.

“They traded the truth about God for a lie” (Romans 1:25a). This applies to all of us. Eve and Adam, in the garden, traded the truth for a lie. God had said one thing. The serpent said another. They chose the serpent. That choice changed everything. It is the goal of the enemy of our souls to get us to believe lies rather than the truth. This trade of truth for lies now happens every day.

“But the Son of God came to destroy the works of the devil” (1 John 3:8b). There is another option. Because Jesus was born, we can believe the truth, rather than the lie. I can now live like Mary, instead of Eve. It is possible for me to believe God will do what He said because Jesus destroyed the works of the devil.

So today I choose truth. “Did God really say…?” Yes, He did. 

This is Discipleship

Life is messy. So many things do not go as planned. We run into obstacles that change our course and direction.

I was talking to a dear friend who is also in the process of moving overseas to serve in missions. She is running into roadblock after roadblock. I mentioned that God is using these roadblocks to prepare her for her life internationally. I believe God is shaping her through these obstacles so that she is ready for what He has for her in the next season.

Just days later I had someone give me a similar message as I was complaining about my own roadblocks. It forced me to stop and really consider the truth I had so easily given to another, but struggled to live out myself. God is in control. He is using the journey to shape me so I look more like Jesus and so He can use me in Asia Pacific.

As I took a dose of my own medicine, I looked at my truth-teller and said, “This is discipleship.” Small groups are great. Devotional studies can be helpful. Yet, discipleship is walking with Jesus through the mess and the unplanned so we are uncomfortable and are forced to confront truth and have it retool our hearts and minds. Having to wrestle with not being able to buy a plane ticket to Thailand yet is discipleship. Asking people to join my support team is discipleship. Confronting my own desire for control is discipleship.

Jesus said it this way in Matthew 16:24-25, “If any of you wants to be my follower, you must turn from your selfish ways, take up your cross, and follow me. If you try to hang on to your life, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for my sake, you will save it.”

This waiting, this discomfort is the vehicle for me to turn from my selfish ways, take up my cross, and follow Jesus. This is discipleship. 

Don't Know

I was sharing with a good friend this weekend how uncomfortable it is right now to not know when I am leaving for Thailand. I want to be able to plan with an end time in mind. I do not know when I see people if it is the last time I am visiting with them or if I will have eight more visits over the next couple of months. The not knowing makes me uncomfortable and anxious.

Her gracious response was to remind me that I am not in control. She mentioned that we never know the time we have left and so we always need to say our goodbyes well and keep short accounts.

Jesus said in Matthew 24:42-44, “So you, too, must keep watch! For you don’t know what day your Lord is coming. Understand this: If a homeowner knew exactly when a burglar was coming, he would keep watch and not permit his house to be broken into. You also must be ready all the time, for the Son of Man will come when least expected.”

I don’t know when I am leaving for Thailand. I also do not know when I might die (I narrowly missed being hit by a driver who ran a red light yesterday). I don’t know when Jesus is returning. So I must be ready all the time. I must be ready for Jesus to return. I can be ready for Thailand, whether I leave in January or in June.

It is not about knowing, it is about living. I can live each day in preparation. I think I am going to try and make that choice. 

Settling or Scattering

We are drawn to settle. From the beginning, God called His people to scatter throughout the earth. In Genesis 9, God reaffirms this call after the flood. He says, “Be fruitful and multiply. Fill the earth” (Genesis 9:1). The people started out fulfilling this command, but then they got distracted. Genesis 11:1-2 says, “At one time all the people of the world spoke the same language and used the same words. As the people migrated to the east, they found a plain in the land of Babylonia and settled there.”

Instead of filling the earth, they made plans to build a tower to the sky. They wanted to go up rather than out. In order to get His people back to scattering, God came down to earth. “In that way, the Lord scattered them all over the world, and they stopped building the city. That is why the city was called Babel, because that is where the Lord confused the people with different languages. In this way he scattered them all over the world” (Genesis 11:8-9). God’s plans are not thwarted. He told the people to fill the earth and He would do whatever it took to get them to scatter instead of settle.

I see this story repeated in Acts. Jesus tells his disciples, “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you. And you will be my witnesses, telling people about me everywhere- in Jerusalem, throughout Judea, in Samaria, and to the ends of the earth” (Acts 1:8). The disciples start off well, but they start to settle in Jerusalem. So in Acts 8:1, “A great wave of persecution began that day, sweeping over the church in Jerusalem; and all the believers except the apostles were scattered through the regions of Judea and Samaria.”

God’s intention is for His people to scatter. We are meant to fill the earth, telling people everywhere about Jesus. However, there is a strong draw to settle. Babylonia is beautiful and comfortable. Jerusalem is familiar. Orange County is where my family lives. As I prepare to depart for Thailand, I feel that draw to settle. I long to be near my family. I cling to what is familiar. However, I know my call is to scatter. I would rather scatter obediently, then be scattered by God’s discipline or persecution.

So I answer the call to fill the earth with God’s redemptive story. I prepare to go to Thailand. I prepare to scatter.

Communication vs. Communion

There is no substitute for face-to-face. Don’t get me wrong. I am grateful for Facebook, Skype, and other technology that allows me to remain in communication with friends and family around the world. However, nothing can take the place of being physically present with another person.

Matthew Anderson in his book Earthen Vessels describes it this way, “The advantages of the Internet, of course, are incalculable. But a world shaped by iPhones and Facebook is more oriented toward communication than presence. When I communicate something, I intentionally transmit information. The word or thought, in other words, passes through the tools we make to other people who receive the communication. But the body, on the other hand, does not only mediate information about me- it is my presence in the world. Physical presence makes possible a true communion of persons, a communion that requires the sharing of space and time” (p. 93).

This truth has come home to me over the past few weeks. Over and over as I have had opportunity to talk face-to-face with people about God’s call on me in Thailand, I have heard people say, “I read your emails and your newsletters, but I could not even fathom the scope of what you shared tonight.” My presence with the message changed everything about the message shared. It was not just about communication, it was about communion.

I just spent two glorious weeks in Germany with friends and students who I have tried to stay connected with via Facebook, Skype, and phone calls. Being there- in their homes, in their schools, in their space- was different. It was not about transmitting information. Instead there was communion because we shared space and time. The truth of my love for them and the truth of God’s love for them could be communicated differently because we were face-to-face.

The apostle Paul knew this difference between communication and communion as demonstrated in his letters.

•        “For I long to see you, that I may impart to you some spiritual gift to strengthen you.” (Romans 1:11)
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•       “But since we were torn away from you, brothers, for a short time, in person not in heart, we endeavored the more eagerly and with great desire to see you face to face.” (1 Thessalonians 2:17)
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•        “We pray most earnestly night and day that we may see you face to face and supply what is lacking in your faith.” (1 Thessalonians 3:10)

There is no substitute for face-to-face. This is a heartbreaking reality as I prepare to leave my family and friends for Thailand. I do not just want to impart information to those I love. I want communion. I am thankful for the time I have had to hold my nieces and make them laugh. It is a joy to be able to sit across the table from my siblings and share life with them. I love that I can drop by to process life with my parents. I am grateful for those friends who have set aside time every week to connect face-to-face.

I am thankful I will continue to be able to communicate with those I love. I am also thankful for the opportunities God is going to give me to share space and time with a new community in Thailand. However, it is going to be hard to give time to communication when I long for communion with those I am leaving behind. Yet another reminder I was made for heaven, not for Facebook.