I have to start with this verse that popped up in my quiet time yesterday morning: "How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And is what we are!" - 1 John 3:1a... What really "got me" about this verse wasn't necessarily the words, but the punctuation (yes, the punctuation is also inspired)... Exclamation points! John is being emphatic about the greatness of the love God has for us... think about Tom Cruise's stupid "jump on the couch" antics about Katie Holmes minus the publicity stunt and in the vein of true agape love... not Hollywood lust. That's pretty cool.
On the support raising front... I'm currently at $450 of my $2000 (the target went up because of the price of the plane tickets) goal. Thank you, thank you to everyone who has contributed to-date!
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About the title: Yesterday, I was returning to my car from LA Fitness drenched in sweat (which is a good thing when working out) and saw a sheet of paper on the side of my car. When I picked up to read it... the title read "Am I Going to heaven?" (I think that's how it's capitalized) in a very old font. I looked around and the before mentioned tract was on most everyone's ride too. It starts out by talking about the King James Bible and goes through the plan of salvation (I suppose... I didn't read in detail) with a ton of verses.
Now, I'm not doubting that anything on this card is not true... in fact I scanned it and it looks theologically legit... the rub I have is that the thing was placed on my car by someone who has no clue who I am (and in fact could have saved themselves a tract if they saw my GlobalX workbook in the backseat). Somehow, the whole idea of passing out tracts to strangers says something like this... "I want to share Jesus (or I need to share Jesus) with you but I don't want to invest in a relationship with you, so here's the truth and read it for yourself. Have a nice life and if you accept the truth then we can hang." That may be unrealistically harsh (a reverse euphemism in a way)... and I hope that there's no truth to that but that's can be how it can be construed.
I doubt that hurting people that may already have a negative perception of Christians are really impressed with this approach, or are even helped by it. Our greatest need is for love and relationship... and while that can ultimately only be fulfilled by a relationship with Christ characterized by grace, most people will only enter into that relationship when they see it played out in the real world. In one of our Estonia meetings, Timo (who is an intern at NPCC and a member of Risttee Church) mentioned that what got him was seeing Peep and his wife sitting side by side and truly loving each other. That's one of the things that really got him thinking that there's got to be something to this Jesus thing.
The one thing that I have seen that illustrates this "truth without relationship" thing the best is a scene from the Casting Crowns video of "Does anybody see her?"... After "the girl" comes to here senses after another bad night trying to fulfill the hunger in her soul in the wrong places, she comes to her senses and decides to check out what's going on at church (because these people seem happy and she's obviously miserable on the inside)... only to meet rejection in the form of a scornful look from a mother with a child (she just came from the bar and she's dressed "as she is" and didn't have time to "clean up") and having the singles group clique pass by her without anyone even saying hi to her.... she gets up to the door of the church but doesn't go in after feeling so much rejection. The next scene shows her waitressing at the coffee bar and the same Christian group is sitting down having a good time ("the girl" is obviously hurting now). They leave the restaurant and give her a super-cheap tip (a buck... "Mr Washington") and a "Steps to Peace with God" (I think) tract and leaves. And, like I think most people who don't have a relationship with Jesus would do in this situation, she throws the tract in the trash and then breaks down... because she feels disrespected and unloved (fortunately, the video doesn't end there... someone eventually DOES speak love to her).
(btw - anyone wanting to see the video itself... it's on http://www.castingcrowns.tv/ - the "Does Anybody Hear Her?" music video. Good stuff/convicting. Now, I don't necessarily want to knock on all tract usage because it does have it's place... they're simple reads and all... and God can use anything to bring people into relationship with Him (even things done with wrong motives... He's a big God), my thoughts are that many Christians tend to lean on these impersonal methods to witness and in the end are we really fulfilling the Great Commission as Christ intended?)
What I'm personally wresting with is this... Am I investing in relationships with folks that need to know Jesus -or- am I simply going through the motions to "do good” in the name of service? Is the love that Christ lavished on me and my love for the other person my motivation or is it something else? My prayer for this trip, and for my life here in Atlanta, is that God gives me the kind of love for people that allows me to "Walk as Jesus did" – to invest in relationships with people that need to know the love that He has for them (and me). I think that's what Jesus would want.
Chris <><
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