“Missionary life is simply a chance to die.” – Amy Carmichael

“For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain.” – Phil. 1:21

What is it with Christ followers and their “dying to themselves” and living in Christ stuff?  How come we just can’t be who God created us to be?  Ya know, give our best?  Just do it?  that sort of thing.  No, it would seem that we are forced to live the dream of someone greater than us.  To give up our desires and go after some sort of ultimate goal, and on top of that, give it up to some sort of Spirit we can never even see.

It’s always been difficult for me to explain the why and how God uses us to accomplish things for His kingdom, but I’ll try this way.  A few times in 1 Corinthians, Paul shares with his fellow Christ followers that we are God’s temple, and that it is important how we treat and utilize the temple of God.  I have this belief that every person was created to be God’s temple, but many choose to worship something other than God in their temple.  In the Old Testament, the Jewish nation of Israel built (under the commands of God) first a tabernacle, and then a temple. In the innermost parts of these buildings was a room called the Holy of Holies where God’s presence was said to have dwelt.  No one was permitted to enter the Holy of Holies, except one time a year when the High Priest would enter to make a sacrifice for the people of Israel.

In the OT, the ark of the covenant (symbolic of the presence of God) was taken or stolen by the Philistines, and initially used as a motivator for the gods of the Philistines, until the ark brought great misfortune on the Philistine people, so they sent it back to Israel.  During that time though, Israel had no power, their temple or tabernacle was literally worthless.

A thousand years later Jesus walked the earth, then sacrificed himself on a cross.  In the gospel accounts of this sacrifice, the authors parenthetically take us to the temple about the time of the death of Jesus.  They take us to the large veil or curtain that blocks the Holy of Holies from the rest of the temple, and this veil literally breaks in two from top to bottom.  This is no easy task by the way, as the veil was said by Josephus to be 60 ft and 4 inches thick. This also suggests that the temple is no longer the place where people come to worship God, but we now have access to God through the person of Jesus Christ.  As we surrender ourselves to the person and sacrifice of Jesus Christ, we are then filled with the power of God – in short, God’s temple is now filled with the presence it was created for.  But too often the follower of Christ still falls back on what he’s known his whole life – trust in himself – so the power of God is pushed aside for a weak and lackluster imposter.

“Go for it!” We tell ourselves.

Let’s illustrate it this way – let’s say there is this balloon that flies.  And let’s say that this balloon looks like a flying saucer/UFO type thing.  Please do your best to use your imagination on this one.  One day, a 6 year old boy gets in this balloon and it flies.  Now this is a helium balloon without any sort of controls, so there is no way to direct or control the balloon from going anywhere it wants to go.  Everyone frets about the young boy and how they are scared for his life.  With our technological advancements today, maybe even the whole nation watches helplessly as the boy rides in the balloon.  Surely this boy is going to die.  This balloon has the capability of landing anywhere from Denver to Flagstaff to just about anywhere within a few hours of Colorado.  In the mountains or in some body of water or in the thick woods.

Jesus says to his followers in Matthew that one must become like a little child to enter into the kingdom of heaven.  Only a child would take a big leap into a balloon that you cannot control and where there was no chance of knowing how things were going to end.  Only a child would face a giant warrior who had killed countless numbers of people and who stared down a nation to its knees.  Only a child would suffer the consequences of a lions den and a fiery furnace because their trust was in the God who they worshiped.  Only a child would jump out of a boat and attempt to walk on water to be with his Savior.  And only a child would take that action that was completely out of the control of that child.  An adult would be too afraid to die.

Then the balloon decides to land.  It lands in a nice soft dirt field at an amazingly slow pace and everything appears to be alright.  the authorities who of course were worried sick about the amazing adventure this young boy had taken get to the balloon first.  And then he comes out.  The young boy is fine and everyone raves about his heroism and strength as he battled against all odds to do survive this ordeal.  The world is mesmerized by the story.

You see, the world is mesmerized by stories of individuals who are not afraid to die.  Individuals who act more like children than adults, and the ironic part is that those are the people who actually live.  Those are the George Mullers and the Martin Luther King Jrs and the Billy Grahams and the Amy Carmichaels of this world who believe that living their lives is really just a chance to die.

Now let’s say the door of the balloon opens and the boy was never in the balloon, but chose instead to stay in his attic, what then?

Then nobody really cares.

What if you gave a teacher or a leader  everything they wanted?

At Fellowship, I’m teaching through a series called “I want to be one of them” and highlighting some heroes of the Christian faith.  I’ve shared the stories of George Mueller and Tony Dungy so far with two weeks left.  One of those weeks we will be talking Jonathan Edwards, one of the great pastors/theologians/authors/philosophers of 18th century New England.  As I’m reading one of his biographies, a thought came to my mind concerning learning from other people:

What would happen if I gave everything I had to mimic the teachings and example of ______________________?

Whether the “fill in the blank” for you is Jonathan Edwards, Joel Osteen, Mother Theresa, Nelson Mandela, Billy Graham, Rob bell, John Piper, Martin Luther, or Martin Luther King, what would happen if you gave them everything they wanted from you in their lives?

Now I understand the rhetoric that’s coming next from most people that we just follow Jesus, but every teacher and leader wants us to do and give something, and finding out what that is might be important.  Because we, being human, tend to be very one dimensional and like people who are like us and do not like people who are not like us.  If you like Jonathan Edwards or John Piper, you might like to have fun, but probably not when it comes to church.  If you’re into Joel or Nelson, I’m guessing you believe everything’s changing slowly into this ultimate utopia.  If mother Theresa or Martin Luther is your thing, then you want to work, work, work for the kingdom, kingdom, kingdom, and when you’re done, you have to keep going.  Clearly these are huge stereotypes and not to be made a big deal of, but the question is…

What would be the end result if you wholeheartedly followed the people you listened to?

Aaaahhh, yes, the day off.

This week the team worked hard to prepare for an amazing experience on Sunday morning @ Fellowship and to provide that same experience online.  My focus will be in James, and we’ll spotlight one of my Christian heroes, George Muller.  But today I rest.  Not much on the schedule except Finders and date night with Carie.  That’s on purpose.  Rest is important.  One day of rest is as important as 5-6 days of work.  It helps focus you to your priorities and rejuvenates you to keep going.
And for me, one of the most important things about the day of rest is some quality time with God.  He reminds me that what I do is not about me but it’s about Him working through me, and as I hide my face, He offers more grace.

And that is something I don’t deserve.