Thursday, September 30, 2010

Restless Peace


Below is a blog post that I put up a couple days ago on the blog at LeaderTreks, where I work (summitlive.org if you're interested). Take a read through it, & let me know what you think. I'm sure you'll be challenged just like I am.

I had the privilege of talking with one of our interns from this past summer. She was in Costa Rica for the summer & I had the opportunity to do a 2 week trip with her when I visited over the summer.

As we talked through her experiences both in Costa Rica & now back home she told me she is still struggling to feel peace in her heart. She has a unique testimony to share in the fact that she stumbled upon God without really any help from anyone but that persistent Holy Spirit just a couple short years ago. It was cool to see that she was already challenging herself in her faith as she devoted her entire summer to mission, students & discipleship this summer.


But like I said, she is still working through this concept of finding peace back home. She told me that she's decided to be involved with areas of service that need the presence of Christ & also has taken advantage of some fun things as well but that restlessness still exists.


Now I'm willing to bet a lot of you have no idea what she's feeling or I am talking about. The truth is most of us have yet to be impacted by God in way that truly changes our outlook on life. To literally return to our daily lives and feel like a stranger in your own skin is a foreign concept. The Bible talks about this in Hebrews 11 (known as the Hall of Faith). In verse 13 it says that these faithful people (Moses, Abraham, Rahab, etc) "were still living by faith when they died. They did not receive the things promised; they only saw them and welcomed them from a distance. And they admitted that they were aliens and strangers on earth."


I think in welcoming the promised things from a distance is where the restlessness comes from. If we truly are disciples of Christ then there should be a level of restlessness for us to see the Kingdom (our true home) here on earth. Even though we can be sure of what we hope for & certain of what we do not see (Heb 11:1) it does not bring a prolonged period of rest to our lives where we just sit & wait for heaven to come.

We need to be challenged with this thought; if you are feeling at peace, feeling comfortable, you may have it all wrong. You may disagree with me and say that Jesus is all about peace but if you take a look at his life, those who followed him (and preceded him) you will find a lifestyle of restlessness. As Erwin McManus says, "it's hard to imagine that Jesus would endure the agony of the Cross just to keep us in line."

I think this is a path that all of us who work for & intern with LeaderTreks are challenged with at some point. We initially may not like the idea of restlessness, the thought of having the taste of bitterness in our mouths every day, but I think we are realizing it is leading to something much sweeter; living life to the full.