ANYTHING but boring!

What's the riskiest thing you've done recently?

Seriously... when was the last time you stepped into a situation, not 100% sure how it was going to turn out? 

My biggest fear is that I'm going to stop truly living long before I die.

I'm afraid of rolling over and realizing that the person lying next to me has become just my roommate. I'm afraid of celebrations fizzling out, like flat champagne. I'm afraid of birthdays and years passing becoming something to dread instead of something to celebrate and marvel at. I'm afraid of having a job that I hate, of trudging into work every day, doing something that I find no purpose in. 

I'm afraid that one day I'll wake up and realize that my life has become a treadmill, always the same, never changing, and always just a few steps ahead of me. No adventure, no thrill, and no purpose- a rat race. 

But most of all, I'm afraid that these things are inevitable.

Like grey hair and wrinkles, it's coming whether you like it or not.

There's a piece of scripture that refutes this like crazy, and I hold onto it with an iron fist.

It's Hebrews, chapter 11. The chapter lists people throughout history who did things that were courageous, a little crazy, dangerous even, but things that required ridiculous amounts of faith- things that mattered. The chapter ends with this:

"And what more shall I say? I do not have time to tell about everyone who through faith conquered kingdoms, administered justice, and gained what was promised; who shut the mouths of lions, quenched the fury of the flames, and escaped the edge of the sward; whose weakness was turned into strength; and who became powerful in battle and routed foreign armies. Women received back their dead, raised to life again. - the world was not worthy of them... God had planned something better for us so that only together with us would they be made perfect."

To be honest, I don't have a huge interest in duking it out with a lion or barely escaping a sward. But what I DO have an interest in is living a life that sparkles, shines, is full of gut wrenching color and love- a life so incredible that it is impossible without ridiculous amounts of courage and faith. 

And that's what this scripture says. It says that by faith, we can live lives that matter, that are amazing, that are miraculous, and that mean something. 

But lives like that don't come easily. 

"Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it." (Matthew 10:38-39)

Coming on this trip was an incredible leap of faith- the biggest one yet. It took giving up absolutely everything I had, and letting go of everything I knew, to take hold of something that I couldn't even see a shadow of yet. 

But I left because of a promise.

Jesus said that he came so that we may have life and have it to the full. (John 10:10)

And that's what I'm finding out here... in all corners of the earth. I'm finding a life that is full, that is real, that is rich, and that takes an insane amount of courage.

This weekend was the perfect example.

On Friday we headed out on a rickety bus to split into groups of three and take a stab at village life. 

I was dropped off on the side of the road with two of my teammates and a translator with nothing but a case of water. 

And we weren't staying for a day... we were there from Friday until Monday.

When we showed up, we were taken past several mud huts and were taken to a house that was made out of mud and a few bricks. 

We spent the weekend cramming ourselves into the tiniest, dirtiest bed, going to the bathroom wherever we could find a place, and groping our way through night's darkness that absolutely dominated our headlamps.

There was no running water, no electricity, and no signs of the fact that the world had made technological advancements since the last time Jesus was on the earth. 

We walked around from hut to hut praying for people, and saw six people healed from malaria, heart palpitations, heartburn, and a plethora of other aches and pains.

We spent time with two women who had both been abandoned by their husbands- providing some much needed companionship. 

We preached on Sunday and danced with little African children that were so cute that we almost tried to sneak them away in our backpacks.

We sat and played the guitar outside while watching lightening flash above the fields stretching out as far as the eye could see.

We stood outside in a windstorm that quickly turned into a massive downpour, yelling out prayers into the tempestuous sky. We were each set free from hurts that have haunted us for years without us even realizing it. 

And to conclude the weekend we woke up at 4:45am to catch our bus back 'home.' 

We drove over the bumpy, cavernous roads until finally our van jolted to a stop with a gigantic 'pop'. 

We climbed out and watched seven African men completely tear apart the van trying to fix it- resorting to putting pieces of a tree branch in the engine as a sort of band-aid. We were dying laughing and taking pictures and praying that the engine wouldn't catch on fire while we were inside.

Unfortunately we didn't get to stay to see what happened next. 

We were picked up by a gigantic construction truck with cage-like bars in the bed, and we all climbed in, making the rest of the trip to town. We were standing up, holding on for dear life, and waving to the baffled Africans staring open-mouthed at us as we drove by. 

When asked what the two greatest commandments were, Jesus said to love God with everything we have and to love our neighbors as ourselves. Doing that, we can look back and know that we lived a life that mattered. 

This weekend, although it was dirty, uncomfortable and foreign to us... was real. It was a weekend full of God's miraculous love and healing. THIS is real life. 

Living a life that matters means getting out of the pews, seeing God's promises come to life... actually taking the commands he's given us and following through with them. Jesus gave his disciples, and us the authority to heal every disease and sickness (Matthew 10:1) and says that we will do things that are even more miraculous, crazy, and amazing than Jesus did himself. (John 14:12)

And that is anything but boring.

There is more to life than what we're living right now- but it takes an incredible amount of faith and courage- it takes stepping out.

And as Christians, as children of God, we are told to go. Jesus said, "As the Father sent me, so am I sending you." (John 20:21)

He's sending us to "looking after orphans and widows in their distress" (James 1:27), to "heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse those who have leprosy, and drive out demons" (Matthew 10:8) he's sending us to "go and make disciples of all nations" (Matthew 28:19). 

This isn't a polite request, we are sent out. We are sent out to live by faith. We have a job to do- a job that matters.  

Joshua 1:9 says, "Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go."

Living a life that matters is doing things that require you to need this verse. You don't need to be told to be courageous, and to be strong when you're living a life that is comfortable and asks nothing of you.

Don't be mistaken- living a life of miraculous love and healing can happen ANYWHERE. Not just on the World Race. 

It's standing up for your faith, and sharing what you believe with the people next to you at work. It's treating people well and praying for them when it's hard. It's giving more than you think you can afford to people in need.

It's trusting God with your heart, your family, and your plans. It's praying and watching for things to actually happen. It's taking that (daunting) step of praying for people who are sick- and actually expecting them to be healed.

It's fighting for the good of your family and friends and pursuing them with intention and love instead of just calling out "lets get coffee sometime" over your shoulder as you walk away.

It's loving... really loving, and allowing other people to love you... to know you intimately. 

Love is what the World Race is all about. Loving God, and loving our neighbors as ourselves... and that's not something that's restricted to being overseas. 

Love is risky, love is hard, but to love is courageous and love is what it's all about. 

A life walking with the Lord is risky, it's dangerous, and sometimes it's terrifying.

You never know how it's going to end up and you feel sometimes like you're free falling.

But at the end of that free fall, around that corner, and when you truly throw your hands up and enjoy the ride- you find yourself basking in the glow of his glory. You find yourself filled with joy, peace, love, kindness, goodness and beauty beyond anything you've ever imagined.

And sometimes... you find yourself barreling down the road, standing up in the bed of a construction truck in Tanzania... having just prayed malaria, pain, and heart conditions out of people who were lonely, helpless and in pain before you showed up to bring more love into their lives.

I refuse to buy the fact that at some point life lands you on a treadmill... without scenery, without joy and without bubbles in the champagne. 

So here's to living a life that matters, and living until we die. 

"All these people were still living by faith when they died." Hebrews 11:13