I want to take my kids back. I know some would say that is too dangerous. But what would happen if they had a global perspective early on? How could we change the social injustice of the world? It took me 30 years to get to this point, we could begin to really live out what we believe in if we can teach our own kids and expose them to it... let them be changed early on...? Now that would be dangerous.
What is equally dangerous is being confronted with a big old mirror - that kind that makes you look fat and unattractive and yet is the real mirror. And I'm trying to face some of what I see in me... like thoughts on success and poverty and sacrifice and selfishness.
How do we measure success on a short trip like this? Is it the number of children fed? The amount of houses rebuilt? The level of health care given? Do we set out our attainable goals and meet them to count the financial sacrifice a trip like this takes all worth it? How do we measure that?
What does poor mean??? God's economy is not ours. Ours is upside down. They may be poor in finances, but they are rich in His kingdom. We are in the top 1% of the world's wealthiest people, if you make more than $10,000 a year.
The need for water is so crucial that they would walk miles for it, travel all over do anything for it... Jesus is the living water for our souls and we have access to him and straight ignore him.
We have the word of God in our houses, our churches, our computers and phones, they may have one or 2 copies in a community and yet their thirst is deeper.
Worms infect about 800 million school age children worldwide-simply by drinking or stepping into contaminated water or eating food prepared by someone who didn't wash their hands first. Infected children become malnourished and grow sicker and weaker with each passing week. They become physically and intellectually stunted, and many die. Those parasites steal their nourishment, but what parasites are stealing ours? I realized I have a lot of parasites in my life. TV, internet, selfish ambitions, the pursuit of happiness. When I was in Haiti and was an unplugged technophile, I felt more myself and more peaceful than I had in a long time. I felt more in tune with God than I had in a long time. I had more time to read my Word, more time to spend in true community with the little group that went. More focus.
It is easy to say that I had a spiritual mountaintop experience in those mountains. It is easy to look at a trip like this and think, "Well, of course you were connected with god. You saw amazing things. You didn't have the responsibilities we have here at home." You know what? I put those things on myself here at home. Kids in poverty don't know any better how to protect themselves from parasites that will destroy them, and yet I know full well what is eating away at my spiritual body. Living in full recognition of who Jesus is and what he has done for me and yet I choose to return to the dirty water wells over and over and over. I know Pete is going to return from Africa on Wednesday with images of children who are malnourished and stunted in growth... and yet that is what I am! The mirror of Haiti showed me that under my fat, healthy American body is a soul that is in need of nourishment. A life lived in comfort is stunting my growth. The complexity and technology of my advanced culture is destroying the simplicity of the life he calls me to lead.
Let me share with you a little obscure verse from Prov 30.
"Two things I ask of you, O LORD;
do not refuse me before I die:
Keep falsehood and lies far from me;
give me neither poverty nor riches,
but give me only my daily bread.
Otherwise, I may have too much and disown you
and say, 'Who is the LORD ?'
Or I may become poor and steal,
and so dishonor the name of my God.
This guy Agur who wrote this is cautious of 2 extremes. He wants to keep lies away from him and live in truth. He asks God not to give him too much riches so he is not tempted to think he doesn't need God (Hello, America?) and yet he also asks God not to give him poverty so he doesn't get tempted to steal and dishonor the name of God. What he asks for is only his daily bread. Just enough to live day to day. Just enough to know it is from God and praise Him for it. Sounds like Jesus knew this Proverb when he prayed what we now call the Lord's prayer... give us this day our daily bread. Are we living daily? Are we eating the bread of His Word daily?
Have we bought the lie close to us that the pursuit of happiness will give us life?
If know you are drinking from broken cisterns, returning over and over again to the water that kills you, allowing parasites in your life to eat away at your spiritually would come face to face with the mirror. I want to pray that God would come change us. That HE would be our source. That we would find our riches in HIM alone.
Matthew 16:24 - And Jesus Said to his disciples, if any one would come after me, he must deny himself, pick up his cross and follow after me.
I ended that night of speaking with one of my favorite Willet songs "Carry the Cross" based off of the Thomas à Kempis quote
"Jesus now has many lovers of His heavenly kingdom, but few bearers of His cross."
Here are the lyrics:
I WANT TO BE A BEARER OF YOUR CROSS
NOT JUST A LOVER OF YOUR KINGDOM, NOT JUST A LOVER OF YOUR KINGDOM
I WANT TO BE A BEARER OF YOUR CROSS
NOT JUST A LOVER OF YOUR KINGDOM, NOT JUST A LOVER OF YOUR KINGDOM
JESUS, YOU BORE THE PAIN FOR ME
JESUS, YOU TOOK THE NAILS IN YOUR HANDS AND YOUR FEET
SO I WILL / CARRY THE CROSS
SO I WILL / CARRY THE CROSS
AND EVEN THOUGH THE STORMS MAY COME
AND I'LL STUMBLE DOWN THIS ROAD I'M ON
I'LL CARRY THE CROSS / BECAUSE YOU CARRIED ME THROUGH IT ALL
Listen to the song here (track 8)
NEXT POST: IMAGES!!!!!
