Was Jesus serious? It seems today that a lot of people don’t think He was actually speaking the truth, and it shows in the way we live.
Do I believe Jesus wants me to literally feed the poor or really love my enemy? Am I living like I am here to bring the Kingdom of heaven to the earth now, and not just waiting around for the life to come? On Earth as it is in Heaven?
Jesus definitely referenced heaven a lot, but He also lived like someone who is fully invested in the right here and right now of His people. He continually allowed others to interrupt Him with their troubles, hurts, problems and lives.
Who were Jesus’s constant companions? He was always chillin with lowly fisherman, tax collectors, prostitutes, lepers, the blind, the poor, the homeless, the sinner. Where and with whom can I be found consistently? If I call myself a follower of Jesus, I better be following His example!
So here we are in Thailand! It. Has. Been. INTENSE. God is speaking and He has a lot to say! Do many of us ever take time to stop and listen? Sometimes I think of Him as the God who did things, not the God who DOES things.
A dude spoke some sweet words over me during our training camp in Georgia. He said God wants me to have HIS vision for the world, not my own. He wants me to see the world through His eyes, not society’s. God has a vision that will not align with the one the world, others, or even I have for myself!
One of our constant prayers here is to have God’s eyes for the people on Bangla and all over Thailand.
When we have God’s eyes we will not see prostitutes and those who buy them as their actions, we will not define them as what they do during the night. When we are sharing in God’s vision every single person on Bangla is a daughter, a son, the beloveds of Jesus.
It has been amazing to connect with people on Bangla who I never thought we would be loving on. Jesus was pretty unpredictable though, so we should definitely be prepared to have crazy experiences if we are following Him.
I can’t say that I ever thought I would be walking down a red-light street in Thailand high-fiving drunk tourists, dancing in rain storms, cheersing (with sodas) to Jesus, and chatting about theological issues with random men in Starbucks.
What can you say though when your Teacher was a dude who spit in some dirt to heal a man’s sight?
A life following Jesus is going to look weird in this world.
Oh, and here are some pics from the fantastic Thailand islands…no big deal.
