GO

I began my office day with my coworker, Brian, with a conversation on how, from time to time, we'll meet very mature Christ followers. Just how do these people become so mature? Many times, the reason behind their maturity is because they have an unmistakable mission: they've taken up the responsibility to lead others for the sake of Christ. Just like an ordinary teacher, a leader for Christ must know the facts of what they are teaching. But unlike a teaching, a leader for Christ not only has to know the facts, they must also have lived it. Just as a shepherd leads his sheep to green pastures and still waters by having first gone ahead, a leader for Christ must have also done likewise.

An hour or two after our conversation, my dad called (My dad was going through a phase where he just seemed pretty irrational and difficult to deal with. I felt like I was suffering because of his poor planning and his poor decisions.). I wondered if it was right to let the phone continue ringing without calling him back to ask what he wanted. My guess was that he wanted me to complete an inane task--not worth a drive home. After a few minutes of wondering how I could do the least and still be in the "right" as a follower of Christ, I realized that I was asking the wrong question. The right question was "how can I best love this person who is still unlovely in this moment?" After all, God did the same for me, and my desire was to lead others for the sake of Christ. I must first go. So I called my dad back. He confirmed my initial guess: he wanted me to drive all the way back home just to do something that would take less than five minutes--move a few clothing items from the garage to my room, to be exact. Backed with the prayer of Brian, I left my office and headed home.

I arrived at my house, and turning into the driveway, I saw that my mom was also home. She could have easily done the task, however, I quickly remembered that getting my mom to do the task was not the point. The point was how I could respond in love toward someone who was unlovely at the moment, even for the past few days. So in just two minutes, I finished the task and headed back to the office. I remember driving down the windy road with a strange sensation: I felt like my entire body was sent through a barage of 10-ton steel rollers, but instead of breaking (which felt like a very real possibility), I became moldable and pliable, relinquishing control to how I thought I should learn the lessons of Christ. Simultaneously, I felt like a victory for God's kingdom had been accomplished, qualifying me to lead others similarly, and giving the world another glimpse into God's marvelous work in my life on earth.

What I learned:
Up until this point, they only thing I could sincerely pray for with regards to this situation was that God would give me the heart of a servant; my motives for asking God to change my dad would have only been for my own comfort. While driving back to the office, I understood more clearly how Jesus' example of washing His disciples' feet applied to my situation. It wasn't as if my dad himself was unlovely; it was the dirt on his feet that was unlovely; he was a human being made in God's image and just had some dirt on him. So, while driving back to the office, I asked God to wash my dad's dirty feet as I washed them likewise by serving. I know God is transforming him.

That same night my dad called me again. He wanted me, in the middle of my work day, to drive to San Jose in order to pick up a relative who was to arrive on bus. The conversation I had with Brian and the decision I made to lead others for Christ flashed through my mind. "I will do it," I said. If, in this situation, this was how I could best love the unlovely, then I would do it. If this was how I could lead others to do the same, I would do it.

These kinds of situations, for me, are like car rides. When I set out on a trip, sometimes I I find myself trying to accomplish things other than driving. I need to select the perfect road trip tunes, I need to set the right temperature, I need to send text messages, I need to pick the pepper out of my teeth in the mirror. I needed to quit all that. Let's quit all that. Let's quit waiting for the right feelings, let's quit seeking first the kingdom of our own comfort, let's quit trying get away with doing the least we can do while calling it love.

Look up. Everywhere around us the traffic lights are green to wash the beautiful feet of those whose feet have become unlovely. Let's wash them by serving, speaking, praying. Love. GO. Let God's mighty work in you shine before all.

A Grand and Noble "Era"

June 16, 2007|Davis, CA—I sit here on this couch and look around at our semi-cluttered living room. I look at these walls, these pictures, these shoes. I hear the song "Beautiful One" playing in the background. In all these things, I remember how good it was to have been a part of such a grand, noble era. I feel the weight of sadness as I realize that this grand era, this house, this community, as an emergent beacon of light from the norm of typical college life is come to a close; it has ended; the chapter has changed. While I was in it and a part of it, I took it for granted. The last year and a half I took it for granted. I will learn never to do that again.

I remember the music, the people, the sounds of guitar, the sight of food, the smell of cooking. I have been so privilaged to have been a part of and pioneer of this era. It was not anything expected; a few others and I simply had a shared desire to use this house for its given purpose: To be a beacon of light and refreshment to all who entered the house. We did that by our collective desire and pursuit of God. We did it by asking God to profoundly impact others through our acts of service. Our acts of service were these: Cooking for others, cleaning for others, talking with others, making music with others, having Bible studies with others, praying with others, going out of our way to serve and help others, suspending "important" tasks we were doing and pushing through times we felt tired. We even did all these things while we did not have an entirely "Christian" household! I did my part with my abilities, and others joined in to help; others did their part with their abilities, and I joined to help. It was simple: we were fiercely unified in love for one another—a band of brothers—and we served with our capabilities, both when we felt like it and when we didn't, because it was good and right—it was Christlike.

God help me remember that the Spirit of the universe—the Spirit of unending goodness—lives in me and acts through me, from the smallest of deeds to the greatest. With prayer and love expressed through service and words, this God who lives in me can burgeon a light, a movement, once more, though it may not have the same faces, it will be just as powerful none-the-less, and will bless those who those who are touched by it and those who choose to be a part of it. I began this entry two hours ago deplete with sadness, but end it with hope and joy as I realize this profound truth: The grand, noble Era is in me; the Movement is in us.