Shining Isn't So Beautiful After All

The Lord has been speaking to me a lot about SHINING lately.

Today I was reading in Romans 13 and came across this verse: "Put aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light."

Whoa. Armor of light. That brought my mind racing all the way back to Ephesians 6:10-18, the passage that talks about the armor of God. These two pieces of equipment are one in the same. The armor of God includes the weapons God has given us to fight the enemy: the Word of God, prayer, faith, salvation, righteousness, and peace. Only by equipping ourselves with every piece of the armor -- without one piece missing -- can we fight the spiritual battle that we are in.

The passage in Romans 13 shed new light (Haha, see what I did there?) on my understanding of the armor of God. By using the prepositional phrase "of light," after "armor," Paul is tying back to what he proclaimed in one of his letters.

"...Become blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a crooked and depraved generation in which you shine like stars in the universe as you hold out the word of life..." (Philippians 2:15-16)

Basically, Paul is commending us to shine like stars as Christians. We are to stand out among the darkness in our world, and we do this by proclaiming the Gospel of Christ. As Christians, we are called into relationship with God and community with other Christians in order to go out and tell the world about Jesus' saving working on the cross.

But how does one go about this? How does one truly shine the light of Christ, and not of self?

Last week I was browsing Facebook when one of my mentors posted this quote. I don't know who it's from or where she got it, but it struck something within me.

"Shining is always costly. Light comes only at the cost of that which produces it. An unlit candle does no shining. Burning must come before shining. We cannot be of great use to others without cost to ourselves."

I don't know if this is a Christian quote or just a philanthropic quote, but either way, it provides an answer to my question.

Shining cannot occur without burning. And burning hurts.

What does burning entail? Paul gives the answer coincidentally -- or maybe not -- just before he talks about shining like stars. A few verse earlier, we read...

"Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus:

Who, being in very nature God,

did not consider equality with God

something to be grasped,

but made Himself nothing,

taking on the very nature of a servant,

being made in human likeness.

And being found in appearance as a man,

he humbled himself

and became obedient to death --

even death on a cross!" (Philippians 2:5-8)

That is death. That is burning. That is what Christ our Savior did on the cross for us, and we are called to do the same.

That brings me to another quote (Sorry, the Lord just speaks to me through quotes a lot! Haha.): "Jesus did not die on the cross just to save us from our sins; He died on the cross to teach us how to die on our own cross!"

WOW. That's powerful. No, we cannot forget that Jesus saved us from our sins on the cross. That itself is salvation -- the act of trust and surrendering to God that gives us eternal life. But there was more to Jesus' act than that!

Jesus taught you and me how to die on our own cross by his own act on the cross. Philippians 2:5-8 (above) perfectly correlates with this.

So the call to shining, the call to proclaiming the Gospel among all nations, first involves dying on our own cross. And what does dying on our cross entail?

Surrendering our rights.

Seeing ourself as "dirty, little objects" as C.S. Lewis puts it.

Wasting our life at the feet of Jesus all for His glory.

There is a difference between Christianity without a cross and Christianity with a cross. At an event called "Secret Church" put on by an external ministry organization called IMPACT at my school a little over a year ago, the speaker spoke about just this.

He said that Christianity WITHOUT a cross is comfortable with role-based Christianity. Christians who identify with this type of Christianity do not do anything; they stay put and just go through the motions of church and spiritual disciplines with no real growth.

On the other hand, Christianity WITH a cross consumes, hurts and costs. Christians who identify with this type of Christianity are ablaze for the Lord; they deny their desires and only have their eyes fixed on Jesus. They are not concerned with what the world thinks; they are only concerned about what God thinks. Although they may face persecution, they press onwards towards Christ -- the goal.

What sounds better to you? For me, it's the latter. No, I'm not there yet and every day I must die to myself over and over again. Yes, there are days where I fail. There are days where my flesh wins and my spirit loses. But in the long run, I'm on the road to dying on my cross, because I know that the reward of following God is greater than any temporary reward won by my own strength.

And that's what Thailand is all about. Yes, it may look pretty on the outside, but really, this opportunity is going to be challenging. I'm going to be in a totally foreign location with nothing familiar -- not even the language. But I know this is where the Lord has called me to, so I will not disobey Him.

I would rather die on the battlefield serving my Lord by wearing the armor of light than die in the comfort of my own culture.

"The only call is the cross."

Jumping Off A Cliff

The other night, I was having a conversation with my roommate and one of the girls we live next to. We sprawled down on the bright red carpet in our PJs and started talking about church, just as the clock striked midnight.
The girl who lives next door brought up the message her pastor gave in church earlier that morning. It was about the Apocolype, and it really caught my attention.
Trapped between phrases about such things as the mark of the beast and the rapture was a statement that stood out like an elephant in a room.
If God is calling you to something now, then why remain stagnant where you're at?
If Jesus was to come tonight, would you be satisfied with where you're at? Or would you be dissapointed because you didn't obey God's calling on your life?
I'm not trying to push any guilt on you, but this is a real question with serious results. Eternal results.
So, what are you waiting for?
Maybe you're waiting to pursue your dream. Maybe you're waiting to volunteer at church. Or maybe you're waiting to build a relationship with the people in your neighbordhood. Whatever it may be, my next question for you is WHY.
Why are you continuously waiting when you could drop everything you have now and go for it?
Obviously, there are factors.

1. Money. Money is probably the biggest game player in the decision-making field. In our society, people lock themselves into situations because of the dollar signs sprewn across everything.
2. People have a huge influence on us. And when I say "huge", I mean it. People have expectations of us and it's almost like we are living life as a puppet attatched to the strings people have placed on us. If we dissapoint someone close in our lives, then that would lead to emotional pain.
3. Another deal breaker is success. What if you don't succeed at following your passion? What if everything starts tumbling downwards and people don't support you? The thought of failure terrifies us.

But guess what?
In God's story for our life, these factors hardly play a role. God doesn't care if you're Bill Gates or living in the slums of New York. God doesn't pay attention to all the other voices screaming "no" at you. God won't be dissapointed in you if you mess up -- because FAILURE IS GOD'S WAY OF SHOWING THAT WE ARE BROKEN AND NEED HIM DAILY.
Our generation has become too comfortable with the satisfactory. We're scared of pursuing excellence because it would involve risk.
What we need to come to grasp is that God is the author of our life and His story for our life is perfect.
He is the one who created us in our mother's womb.
He is the one who held our hand as a child as we suffered abuse, rejection and loneliness.
He is the one who provided everything you have.
Right now, He is still walking alongside you. The Holy Spirit lives within each of us, and He will always PROTECT and LOVE you, through whatever circumstance comes your way.
Although God has given us freedom to choose our path, He knows that His calling on our life is best. We need to learn to trust God and not doubt Him.

"Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths. Be not wise in your own eyes; fear the Lord, and turn away from evil. It will be healing to your flesh and refreshment to your bones." (Proverbs 3:5-8)
 

Even though it's so easy to fall victim to doubt, be strong and listen to God's voice.
Go ahead, jump off the cliff you've been standing on and dive into the place God is calling you to. The waters may be deep and unclear, but God will be by your side the entire time.
No, some of the things God tells us to do might not make sense. Logically, it may not make sense for you to drop out of school, travel overseas and build an orphanage in the place you feel that the Lord is calling you to. Where would you get to money to do that? Where you would stay? What if you aren't successful? These are some of the eerie thoughts that can creep into our minds when we picture ourselves where we feel like God is leading us.
Be strong in the Lord and stand up against the lies coming against you. Allow the Lord to be your shield that deters the attacks of the enemy.

"The LORD is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer; my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge. He is my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold." (Psalm 18:2)
 

Whoever you may be, God has a beautiful and magnificent plan for your life. If you haven't discovered it yet, seek Him and He will reveal it in His timing. He loves you so much and would never lead you down a path of destruction.
Remember, when we give God the steering wheel of our life, then He will take us to places we could never imagine before. It's a completely exhiriating and risky experience, but in the end it's all worth it.

A Sudden Ache

I was reading a news story today about how extreme monsoon flooding in northeast India has displaced nearly 2 million people. I was utterly shocked at the amount of damage; over 60 people are dead and it is one of the worst disasters this region has seen in over a decade.

After becoming informed about the disaster, my thoughts began to race into action.
What can I do to help? These people have lost all hope. I need to jump on a plane and provide food and water for them.

Complete nonsense. I can't afford a $1,000 plane ticket to India, nonetheless can I simply stop working and spend a month in a foreign country with no place to stay.

Sometimes our instantaneous desires are out of the question.

But God reminded me of something as I pondered this idea.

"You can PRAY."
That's what He said, clear in my head. The wheels in my brain stopped for a moment.

So, I can say a little prayer, and that will be enough? I don't need to do anything else?

First off, no prayer is "little." No matter how short it is and no matter if you use 1st grade vocabulary without the big fancy words.

God hears every prayer shouted, spoken, whispered, and said silently in your head.

"I love the Lord because he hears my voice and my prayer for mercy." (Psalm 116:1)

Secondly, God doesn't call us to solve every hurt and need on the planet. Our hearts may ache to help those who suffer and have experienced great loss, but before our foot takes one step ahead of our hearts we must ask the Lord if it is the right path for us. And while we do that, we must pray continuously and passionately for the situation we empathize with.
God has a very specific plan for every one of us, but one thing he calls each of us to is prayer.

"Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God." (Philippians 4:6)

Next time you read about a horrible event in your state or halfway across the world, do not be discouraged if you cannot help out. God has you in the season and place you're in for a reason; embrace that and be prayerful on all occasions.