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Living with Responsibility

When we have the privilege to experience and interact with different cultures, we quickly learn how different America really is. I mean, who else really keeps their lawns this nice?

Enter Ricardo: A 35-year old Tico (local Costa Rican) who has lived in the same small town his entire life, working the land & diligently raising a family of three kids. He wakes up every morning at five to earn his weekly wage and then comes home to learn English and hone his stone-carving skills. I found myself tempted to ask “How can this man be so happy and content with a life like this?” Because his family doesn’t have a car, or a very large dwelling, or even a washer and dryer.

There are times when I don’t know how to digest this world and all that seems unfair. I want to crawl up in a ball and let life pass me by…sometimes. In a place where there is so much misfortune and difficult circumstances, I can’t fathom why I am blessed so abundantly. I never chose to grow in the US of A. I never selected my family. I never had the chance to hand-pick my economic status and access to opportunities. If I am not careful, I begin to feel guilty about all of this. At least I know the enemy is prodding me. But I won’t believe that our God in Heaven is that oblivious: He knows exactly what He is doing. I have found assurance in the words of Luke 12:48 that promised “From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded and from the one who has been entrusted with much, much more will be asked.” Blessings from the Lord come without a cost, not that we possess that kind of wealth anyways. Yet the Scriptures are clear that blessings come with responsibility and I can choose to pour it out like oil on Jesus’ head or use them for my own satisfaction. Being classified as rich, whether by the world or the Bible, is not a sin. However, I do believe it is a serious spiritual disadvantage. (Mark 10:14)

In my troubled soul I was kindly reassured that my God is a God who sits on a throne of Grace (Hebrews 4:16). And His blessings are not ours to direct. (Daniel 4:35). Everything under the sun is His and things go awry when we try to play god. Like I said, I didn’t choose to grow up in such an affluent country with mounds of resources. But, as Luke clearly states, those who have much are demanded much. Let me say this publicly, for myself more than anything: it is okay to have a lot relative to the world. In fact, what a beautiful picture of God’s grace and generous heart. Yet prosperity can harden the heart & I know we are immersed in a comparison culture. I believe God has given me these blessings for a divine and epic purpose. I shouldn’t feel shameful about having a healthy savings account or even a a Bachelors of Science degree. The temptation though is to sit and sulk about why so many people have so little rather than leveraging my resources and opportunities to serve God’s will of love, mercy, and power. Jesus allows us to share in God’s beautiful and holy redemptive plan as we are His ambassadors. Just as the Gospel is available to anyone who believes in faith, glorifying God is not bound by specific conveniences or opportunities.

And rightly so, some of the most happy and lively people are the ones that appear to be suffering through life. God bless America. We need it.

“If you are always keeping blessings to yourself and never learning to pour out anything to the Lord, other people will never have their vision of God expanded through you” Oswald Chambers – Pouring Out the Water of Satisfaction

The Harvest is Plenty

Jesus started out his ministry with twelve core followers. A modest crew of young boys that were willing. As they developed and walked in faith, Jesus sent them out with “All power and authority” (Luke 9:1). Yet Jesus does not stop here. He appoints seventy-two others and sends them out. What Jesus tells them next is thought-provoking “The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few” (Luke 10:2) I often wonder where that harvest is in my day to day. In my mind, a harvest represents an abundance of sorts, yet what I fail to remember is the painstaking labor involved in harvesting. Now I have never actually harvested anything but from my little experience in landscaping, it is arduous. I look around me and see a lot of abundance, a lot of harvest if you will. And people work hard for a long time to taste it. Yet thankfully, Jesus is speaking of a different harvest that me or you can be apart of today.

The reason I have become so bored with this world is because my mind is not on “the things of God, but the things of man” (Matthew 16:23).

In my discontent, the Lord revealed a staggering truth: Every single day, the kingdom of Heaven is forcefully advancing (Matthew 11:12). I am not only invited to witness this movement, but to actively contribute to God’s redemptive plan. There is not a day that goes by that someone does not need to hear about Jesus, God’s Love, endless grace, & our desperate need for Him. If we believe any differently, we are living a lie. Sharing God’s truths are not bound to special occasions, holidays, or Sundays. When we begin to embrace the great commission everyday, we realize that our lives have an eternal purpose. Everyday. There is nothing else that provides this continual source of higher calling. Not a job, not a friendship, not a hobby, nothing.

The harvest is oh so plentiful & He invites us to take part in it.

Rationing Love

I know the scriptures. Well, in all honesty, I know a few verses here and there. And despite my best attempts, I can’t get away from the foundational command of Jesus:

“Love one another. As I (Christ) have loved you, so you must love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another” John 13:34-35.

I just can’t rationalize this one away. If I accepted Christ and commit my life to following Him, Love becomes the metric for a meaningful life. Yet I have found myself so insufficient at this act, as if I believe that I can pick it up through some sermon or after reading a few webblogs (whatever those are). There is a reason, actually an infinite number of reasons, that Jesus constantly preached Love. Not only did He talk a lot about it, he was adamant about living it. We all have a strong yearning to be Loved and I believe Love is trying to break through our souls because it’s grasping for air.

I was on my boat chauffeuring high school kids around the lake, offering them the rare chance to go wakeboarding. While my patience was steady as we tried and tried, I noticed something frightening. [I wanted to control God’s love.] I had decided that because of their lack of appreciation, course jokes & somewhat arrogant mindset they should not experience the fullness of God’s unconditional love. In truth, I was living under the assumption that I am more deserving of God’s love than they were.

If I could open my heart right now, more spiritually and much less physically, you would see a vacuum that is intended to be filled by Luke’s precious words

“If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners love those who love them. And if you do good to those who are good to you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners do that. But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back. Then your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, because He is kind to the ungrateful and wicked. Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.” (6:32-36)

I don’t know why this is still a problem. I mean, we are New Creations & given the message of Reconciliation. Yet so often I strive tirelessly to fabricate Love, to manufacture it within my own factory. Not only does this leave me bitter, it also provides the world an extremely inaccurate picture of authentic Love. I want to be known by the Heavens as someone who Loved. In my mind, the main reason I fail to facilitate the authentic Love of Jesus Christ is perspective. My outlook on what is important and what is not has extreme implications on how I Love. So as we go forth, remember where Love must come from. Rejoice in God’s discipline. Celebrate His Grace.

Running After Conflict

If Jesus’ life equated to an eighty-hour work week, I have been on vacation for the majority of my life.

Looking back, my life was easy. School was easy. Wealth was easy. I started to believe that I wanted my life story to be easy.

My character’s greatest struggles of Pornography & Lust were inscribing a self-seeking story.  And the scary thing was, the world continued to encourage me to pursue this type of life.

But God’s Joy-filled calling spoke of something different: A heart consumed by sacrificial Love.

Without my hand written consent, Jesus reconditioned my definition of a worthwhile life. You see, I tried really hard to fit Christianity into this world and all that it was promising. But anything held up against the rubric of Jesus Christ felt cheap. The unrelenting pursuit of God’s Love revamped my heart and made me repulsed by pornography & lust. So much so, I cofounded billiamjeans, a designer jean company that exists to fight the pandemic of sexual exploitation.

My heart literally transitioned from committing adultery with God’s daughters to desperately laying down my life for their freedom.

I don’t know when it happened, or if I ever could tell my future neighbor a specific date.

But this is what I do know.

Humans need hope. Humans need Eternal hope. I need eternal hope. Because we are all trying to find a cure for the pain (God Bless you Jon Foreman)

Despite a strong yearning for complacency, billiamjeans has become my public outcry for justice. In just three months of full on pursuit, billiamjeans has already influenced a rape victim, a cancer-strickened girl, a nyc pattern designer & a youtube sensation. Now, the fear of failure no longer reigns inside of me, but rather the fear that my story succeeds at things that don’t matter (Thank you Tim Kizziar).

My flesh still has a voice though: I am terrified of living in extreme poverty. I desperately desire a comfortable life. I don’t even want to be severely persecuted. I covet control & clarity.

Yet I can’t keep living my life as if no one is suffering. The data is staggering. The stories are heart breaking. The injustice is sickening. The mere thought of my seventeen year-old sister being sexually exploited burns something deep inside.

As a result, the fears of this world are being displaced by the Fear of my Heavenly Father. I desperately want to fall before Him & hear the words:

“Well done, good and faithful servant” Matthew 25:23

There is nothing better.

The story I am embarking on embodies challenging all that this world loves. Sex, money, power, control, & cheap pleasures. From my end, there is nothing more ridiculous than cutting into the evil of human trafficking & those whom support it. There is a chance I die for this cause.

But, the greater story of faith expressing itself through love will always be overflowing; however, it is up to me to drink from it.

With that being said, Donald Miller’s conference (www.donmilleris.com/conference) would be a sharping tool as I push against my own nature, the destructive voices around me, and the evils of this world. I recognize my desperate need for wise counsel, Godly insight, and accountability. I firmly believe that I would find all of these traits at this conference.

I leave you an idea that I am believing more and more each day:

The Christians who did the most for the present age were those who thought the most of the next. – C.S. Lewis

Go & Live a grander story

Living a Better Story Seminar