What I Learned In The Mountains

It's not often that I take a picture that I'm really proud of.

Purpose is a curious thing. In essence, everyone spends their entire lives searching for their purpose here on Earth. Some people find it in a person, some find it in a hobby, and some find it in a higher calling. Personally I found my purpose in this life in the person of Jesus Christ at age 13. But as simple and as quaint as that sounds, committing my life to Christ did little to give my young, teenage mind a sense of direction.  We all hear the same things growing up. Eat your veggies, go to school, study, don't do drugs, don't smoke, go to college, get a degree, get a job, make money, buy a house, and live a comfortable life with a wife (or husband) and two kids. It's the American dream. And we're all incredibly blessed to live in a country where we can freely pursue those dreams. But even so, if you asked people on the street why we're here, why we exist, I bet most of them would give you a blank stare and then make a Hitch Hiker's Guide To The Galaxy joke. It's an easy out, to laugh off the big questions in life. It allows us to move on with our days, carrying out the next job, the next chore, without really thinking about where we're headed. But even if we take a step back from existential crises, I would hazard to bet that most people struggle with commitment. Commitment to something bigger than themselves. It's a scary thing to choose something to devote your life to. Be it who you will marry, what job you will have, what friends you'll keep, or a million other decisions. But the purpose of this post isn't to promote a feeling of anxiety. Because when we finally find something (or someone) to commit to, something that captures not only our hearts, but our minds as well; well, that can be a beautiful thing. As Christians, we live in an interesting paradox. We're called to live in this world but not be of it. In other words, we're called to live our lives here on Earth but also to realize that this is not our home. The Bible says in Colossians:

"And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him." - Colossians 3:17

 At first glance this verse seems relatively straightforward, Everything that we do, we should do for Jesus. But have you ever stopped to think about what that means practically? I can tell you it means more than "do everything cheerfully." Recently I went on a weekend retreat with my college ministry to the mountains of Colorado. The topic of the retreat? Missions. Now, like most Christians I've always thought of missions as being important, but not something I was particularly called to do. If I'm being honest, my only goal for the weekend was to make new friends and enjoy some time away from the daily grind of life. But, something happened that weekend up in the mountains of Colorado. I can't really explain what. All I can really say is that the Holy Spirit spoke. And not just to me. I would go so far as to say that everyone who went on that retreat heard from the Holy Spirit in one way or another. While some people probably heard cryptic messages of "Wait and see what I have for you." Or a simple feeling of comfort and companionship. What I heard was extremely distinct and concise. I heard a message that I had secretly been dreading my whole life. What I heard was,

      "Go..."

How terrifying is that, right?? It's the word from God every Christian prays for, but secretly hopes never to hear. That's probably too wide a generalization, but you get what I mean. As Americans, we are beyond blessed and spoiled when it comes to material possessions. Are there people in this country who struggle to obtain even the most basic goods required for life? Yes of course. Is there real suffering and a desperate need for the Church to reach out and support the poor here in America? Yes. Of course. However, for the most part, most Americans go to sleep with a roof over their heads, water in their pipes, and food in their pantries. I would go so far as to say that the average American churchgoer doesn't really struggle when it comes to having food and water. This is in stark contrast to the majority of the world. I think that one reason that many Christians fear becoming missionaries can be traced all the way back to the rich young ruler. We simply love our comfy lives too much. However, the purpose of this post isn't to bash Americans or the Church . Quite the opposite really. For you see, like most Christians, I always thought of missions as something that you did when you sold everything you own and move to a secluded jungle in Africa where you live out the rest of your days. And while God certainly does call some extraordinary people to do stuff like this, the fact of the matter is, if that were all that missions were, the Church would be a fraction of the size that it is now. While we were at the retreat, we watched a sermon by David Platt when he was at the Cross Conference in 2016. And while I would love to do an entire breakdown of that sermon, I'll try to keep this already long post as short as possible. Needless to say the sermon was eye opening in so many ways. I'll include a link to the sermon at the end of this post. I'll try and briefly go over the main points of the sermon.

1. There is a crushing need for physical and spiritual aid in the world.
2. We are living in a time of extraordinary opportunity for sharing the Gospel.
3. God calls us ALL to missions.
4. God's call on our lives for missions can take many different forms.

 For now I'll just go over that last point. And when I explain this concept, I imagine a lot of you will have a reaction similar to the one that I had. Here it is:

God calls us to missions right where we are

Sounds ridiculously simple doesn't it? And yet I find so many times that this simple truth eludes so many Christians. Yes, God does call some extraordinary people to the jungles of Africa or the mountains of Asia. But He has also called each and every one of us to be a missionary in our cities, our workplaces, and our own homes. One of the main points in David Platt's sermon was that, in general, we assume that to go on missions is to lay down everything we have and to simply go. And while that is true for some people, it's not quite as clear for others. Think about it, God has gifted each of us with amazing talents and gifts. He has specifically designed each and every one of us to fulfill a specific role in the body of Christ. So whatever your gift is, whatever your talents or hobbies, use them! Find a way to use what you're good at for the glory of God and the benefit of the Church. Whether your gift is music, writing, sports, computers or cooking, I guarantee that there is a way for you to use your gift in a way that brings glory to Christ. Platt had so many examples of people using specific gift or even crazy businesses in way that benefited missions. I highly recommend that you listen to the entire sermon as some of the stories he has to tell are almost unbelievable.

And so yes. I heard God calling me to go. I don't know where. I don't know when. I don't know how. What I do know is that when God does show me where I need to go, whether that be the farthest reaches of Africa or Asia, the largest cities of Europe, or even my neighbor's house down the street, I will be ready. Platt stressed that those of us in school should remain in school. We should be doing everything we can to develop the skills and gifts that God has given us. So that when the call to go does come, we will be ready. And this applies to everyone. Not just students. We should all be working as hard as we can to grow our skills and situations in life so that when God's call on our lives comes, we will be ready. For some of us, that call will be to go. To travel into the world sharing the love of Christ with everyone we meet. For others, that call will be to be the ones who bring Jesus back to America. The ones who find the poor where they are and serve, and the ones who aren't afraid to call out the richest and most complacent people in the world and remind them of their need for Christ. And for others, that call will simply be to give. To give money, time, and prayer to those who are going. If we truly are Christ's army, then we cannot operate without support from the home front. I plan on going more in depth on the difference between "senders" and "goers" in the future so I'll wrap this up by saying that whatever our calling is, we should pursue it with 110 % effort.

Well, here we are at the end of a very disorganized and open ended blog post. I have to admit that I missed writing these and I look forward to writing more in the future. As promised here is that link to David Platt's sermon:

CROSS 2016 | Christ Our Great Reward - David Platt

I'll admit I teared up a couple of times. If nothing else stood out to you in this wall of text, remember that God has blessed you with unbelievable gifts and talents. So use them. Use them well for the glory of the One who gave them to you. And be ready for God's call on your life. I know I'm going to try my best to be ready when He does call. Will you be ready?

Thankfully we did make many new friends.