Lately I have been realizing that as believers we are constantly called to believe in something that we don’t yet see. Its like the “x factor” to a otherwise normal, logical, and even business type way of doing ministry in our present day in age. And its a value that we can’t shake if we like it or not. Don’t get me wrong, when it comes to money and man power we like to be sure that what we think is possible or probable will determine our attempts. However, it seems like the most successful people in our generations at some point believed and acted on something that nobody else did in their surroundings. Maybe we were designed to trust in something bigger than ourselves (and worthy of trust) then just our own ability to accomplish what we are sure we can do. Its funny how we as a society can try to discourage people to believe in something that is not yet successful and only waiting for somebody to have the guts to invest in. This concept is across the board. I’m talking about organizations, projects, and even in individuals.

The other night I was with some friends in a book study called Multiply by Francis Chan. The topic was on arriving to real discipleship by showing love. The verse reference was “If I have the gift of prophecy, and know all mysteries and all knowledge; and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing” (1 Corinthians 13:2 NASB). So naturally we started breaking down what love looks like. Many people started to talk about fulfilling people’s needs. Love is an action and we do things to demonstrate love.  And thats when it hit me; what if love started as small as just believing in somebody or something? Believing that God loves them and has a plan for them. So when I see a need they have, its something that is hindering their destiny from existing. Its to say ” I believe in you and so I believe that you are worthy of investing in because God has things for you to live out.” I feel like the first step to loving somebody is to believe in them for more then what you see in their current state. When we see people, organizations, cities, cultures, etc what do we see? The current state of something is known to everybody, but a transformed state is only seen by those who are willing to believe in it. But my question is what motivates us to believe in it? This is the x factor that we can’t shake as believers in Christ. That He wants to transform everything for his glory.

Are we for that or resistant? Why is believing in somebody or something so powerful and even rare? What if to love my neighbor as myself is to start by believing in them as I believe in me? What if I start to believe in myself by believing in what God says about me and who I am in his eyes? What if I believe in ‘the God I believe in’, as the God who he says he is? What if as Christians we lived from a place that believes in God transforming the current situation to a better one because God is active and not just merely watching us from above as a referee on the sidelines?

It’s not that we were once wild and Jesus tamed us but rather that the world tamed us, and Jesus set us free to be wild!

The reversal

I get a sense that Christianity sometimes doesn’t get a reputation of a faith that frees you as much as it tames you. When people hear the gospel being preached or when somebody shares about how Christianity is something they should desire I feel like the battle that goes on in the listeners head is “do I want to be tamed by this Jesus guy”. And that is the illusion already in place in that person. The person feels like they are already free and now to “be free” is merely to follow certain rules which grants freedom. You can see why people would decline such a invitation. But the Bible says we are already condemned, enslaved, and dead in sin and our only hope is in Christ. Here in Europe, postmodernism has “liberated” the people to “be wild” and it has relieved them of anything that would otherwise “tame” them in how they are allowed to live. Here in Europe anything that claims to be representing of Jesus Christ is not looked at as liberating, but rather oppressing. This has been largely formed by believers over emphasizing the things we can’t do over what Jesus called us to do.

Who is our liberator?

Jesus said in Luke 4:18 when reading Isaiah 61:1 and embodying the words of God that he will set free the captives. In Galatians 5:1 it says it is for freedom that Christ has set us free. So who is our liberator? And what are real chains? The world says Christianity has chained us to absolute morality and we need to be freed of it to be fulfilled. My question is if Jesus came to Earth to set you free (wild), why would he command you to follow something that would tame you? Anything he asks of you to follow is only to maintain your freedom.  On the other hand I have seen friends take their freedom to make “wild” decisions that have now brought them to a lifestyle that they never wanted but feel they can never change. This is the enslavement to sin that the Bible talks about that has tamed people from reaching their potential. The good news is Jesus made a solution to this problem and offers it freely to whoever wants it. So that you would be completely free and wild to decline the things of the world that would destroy your life and accept the things of God that will edify your life and bless those around you.

To follow Jesus is to embark on a wild ride. You can see the disciples in the New Testament being tested in their belief in the miraculous over and over. Jesus brought them to radical situations that needed wildness to see them through. They had to be free of fear and doubt to obey what Jesus was asking of them. Before Jesus met the disciples they learned what to fear and doubt by what the world told them to fear and doubt. The world was in a process of taming them to be ordinary men that history would never remember. But Jesus had other plans for them, plans to have fulfillment in life that they could never dream of. Jesus has a wild life waiting for you, if you choose to want it.

 It’s not that we were once wild and Jesus tamed us but rather that the world tamed us, and Jesus set us free to be wild!

“you saw me before I was born. Every day of my life was recorded in your book. Every moment was laid out before a single day had passed. How precious are your thoughts about me, O God.” Psalm 139:16-17 NLT

The heart of God can be a foreign concept to people. The Bible uses the character of God as a father. How does God become such an intimate role in our lives? The role of a father can put God into a loving or hating category depending on our relationship with our earthly father. The relationship of God the Father and Jesus the Son is a perfect portrayal of what God wants with us. Relationship with him is the significance of our existence. Jesus gave us the ability to be in the presence of God and develop that relationship. God’s character needs to be accurately understood, in order for us to know him. It’s hard for us to comprehend how much he thinks of us. The Scriptures say “his thoughts about me cannot be numbered and they outnumber the grains of sand”. It sounds like God is over qualified to be my father. A father is somebody who has authority of you and is faithful (consistent) to your needs; especially in a time of vulnerability or naivety. If he is to be in a role of affection and authority I must be willing to submit to him. There is a difference of submitting to God as a savior and submitting to God as my Lord. If God is only a savior than we dont need a relationship that is ongoing. But if God is to be honored as the Lord of my life than I will trust him with all things in my life. God’s faithfulness is a promise and a record of what he is capable of and what he has done in the past. God’s character is proven in authority and faithfulness.

“O Lord, you are righteous, and your regulations are perfect and completely trustworthy… your promises have been thoroughly tested…your justice is eternal and your instructions are perfectly true…I find joy in your commandments… your laws are always right…in your faithful love O lord hear my cry” Psalms 119 137-149  NLT

YWAM in Kona is a place that has been called a green house of spiritual soaking. The living quarters mimics a village structure  that complements  a corporate gathering center between two rows of village dorms known as the Ohana court. Meals are cafeteria buffet style and classes are like college lecture courses, but less formal. The best imagery I could compare it with is in the movie Hook, where the lost boys are living in community in Neverland. It is fascinating for me as a people watcher to see hundreds of people from many nations come together with one heart… the heart of Jesus Christ. Everyone here is a volunteer, which can be confusing when you want to talk to the person in charge. Life here revolves around praising Jesus and incorporating it into our attitudes, our daily tasks, and our intentionality to give Jesus away. The campus has a lush landscape with basic but modern facilities. Everything seems to serve a purpose and be decorated or beautified at the same time. I have an amazing dorm room with good roommates. One of my roommates is from South Korea. There is a coffee cafe on campus that is like a simple coffee shop with wooden outside tables on a wooden deck. A banyan tree hangs over it all bringing  shade over the tables and completion to the natural scenery.

I have been thinking about the concept of purpose and beauty after our first lecture on the Kingdom of Heaven and God’s glory. Every Christian believer has to wrestle with their purpose in life and how to go about doing it. I can’t help but think about the Kingdom of God and its advances being incorporated into my life accomplishments. Most people are task driven or they are striving to accomplish something in their lives. Glory is in the heart of man, and God created man for his glory. But God has created beauty to also glorify him as well. When something is beautiful like a plant or animal it reflects the glory of Gods Kingdom just as much as doing a good deed in his Jesus’s name. This is interesting, because it challenges me to know that my purpose is far beyond the mere completion of assignments. God is in me and I share in his glory like a son shares the glory of his dad.  How I go about doing the will of God is glorifying to him and he thinks its beautiful.  I feel sometimes people miss the point of assignments from God. We dont have to appear serious to be holy, or dull to be obedient. God calls use to be passionate and creative with the talents and gifts he has given us. We must be functional and pleasant to all who see our lives if we really want to glorify God. The Kingdom of God is more than the salvation of people’s souls, its all things that has been made from the creator glorified to its creator (if we dont praise him the rocks will).   I want to be like that Bayan tree; pleasant, functional and completing the surrounding I’m in because God designed me for such purpose and pleasure.