I am in the midst of a week following a mission trip to Mobile, Alabama. This usually means two things. First, I am in the process of returning from the trip in practical way. Spending time with my family, getting my feet back on the ground at the church, etc. On the other hand, I am working to be intentional about not returning as well. I left a dry spiritual life when I left for Mobile and I don't have any desire to return. Clearly, there will be other dry times in my life, but I don't need to go there intentionally or end up there passively!
This past week was probably one of the richest weeks for me spiritually (at least in a long time). I will clarify that statement in a moment, but for now just let it stand. Rather than outline everything our team did last week (too many inside jokes anyway) let me share some of the things that I learned and I am learning as a result of my experience:
I said earlier that this was one of the richest weeks for me spiritually; I would like to qualify that statement. I am intellectually fully aware that God is present with us always and is always at work in, around and through us. So, was this week really more rich, or was I just more aware of what is unseen? On one of the first nights of our trip our team read 2 Corinthians 4:16-18. In this passage Paul states that he fixes his eyes not on what is seen (temporary) but on what is unseen (eternal). This set the perspective for the rest of the week for all of us. We were intentionally looking for ways that God was at work during the week in and through each of the team members and those we were serving. It was amazing to see the fingerprints of God's grace all around us. My hope and prayer is that we live the same way in our daily lives! Be actively aware of the unseen that is going on around you!
I was also reminded of how powerful it can be to simply be obedient to the call and life of Jesus! We live in a culture that thrives itself on experience. Consequently we show up to worship services, Bible studies, etc. In the hope of experiencing God (we even have curriculum with that title). The beauty of God is that he desires that we experience him in relationship. However, we often leave worship services (or experiences as some like to call them) and Bible studies disappointed. The experience that we are looking for seems to have alluded us. I don't think that should surprise us! We can "know" Christ in an intellectual way by reading his word, but we must live the word to "know" Christ in an experiential way. To know the experience of Christ is to follow him (Matthew 16:24, Mark 8:34, Luke 9:23).
I have been thinking and praying a lot about how to understand natural disasters in light of the past couple of years. I am not arrogant enough to think that I will ever fully understand it, but here is where I am right now. I think we have forgotten that the consequences of sin were not and are not felt just by the human race (Romans 8:18-20). So are natural disasters a form of judgment? I am not sure I am ready to say that, but I do think they are a consequence of sin. I don't mean to say that New Orleans was a sinful city so God sent a hurricane to destroy it. I think the hurricane was a consequence of sin in a general way (just like pains in childbirth, etc.). However, I also want to be clear that I think the consequences of sin are founded on God's grace. If we are able to sin (or if Adam and Eve were able to sin) without consequence, then we would all be sinning with no reason to stop. Because God wants to be in relationship with us freely and because sin separates us from that, God created the world in such a way that we would be aware of the destruction of sin. The consequences of sin (ultimately death) remind us that we need God, that we cannot sustain life on our own. Everywhere we looked we were reminded of the fact that we are not in control, that we need God. All the comforts that we build for ourselves are temporary! God alone is eternal! So often, we treat the comforts that we are able to build for ourselves as our rights, and we think that they are permanent (even though they are not). What a blessing, and how gracious that we can be reminded of that before it is too late!
In light of this perspective, it was fascinating to hear Ron and Jean (a couple whose house was four feet underwater) share about the new beginning they were experiencing (not just with a new physical home, but spiritually as well). Jean kept commenting about how dark her house had been, and how much brighter and open it was with the new paint (the metaphor was not lost on her). Again the importance of not just focusing on what we can see, but on what is unseen!
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