Serve

Today I met a man at work who has a radical approach to his life. In a few months he intends to quit his job, travel across the country, and learn various skills. These skills include a workshop and further education on how to build homes from the earth, like the adobe buildings of years past, and sustainable gardening that can be done in almost any circumstance. His goal?

To help others create better lives for themselves.
To learn these trades and teach them to others.
To use nature's resources and man's ingenuity to go around the world and help with disaster relief.

This jolted my senses, reminding me that the reason I chose engineering as a career was to help others in whatever way I could. Recently I'd been remembering how we are called to be servants, as Christ came to serve and give. I got some of his story as I talked to him and we put a conveyor section together. I asked him what made him decide to pursue this path of helping others with disaster relief. He told me that he had been getting to a place where his life was miserable, and all he was doing was making others' lives miserable. What turned him around? "Honest friends who told me what they were seeing in my life. Sometimes you become so focused on your own world that you forget about the real world out there."

Intrigued by his story and life plan, I started thinking of what my own life will look like. We share a common concern for the rampant poverty and destruction seen across this world. I told him about what Nuru has been doing to end extreme poverty. ( www.nuruinternational.org ) I began to wonder what lay in store for me here in Lynchburg, and how I could shape the people around me.

I don't think I'll be travelling across the country or the world to help the cause of social justice, at least not in the near future, but there's a city of people here in need of love and support. So I'll be pondering how I can be of service. Maybe volunteer at a food kitchen or homeless shelter. Donate my time, my money, my talents to causes like Nuru and others. I don't know where this may lead or in what form it may take, but I feel the passion inside that this world is broken, and it shouldn't be this way. God has given me the tools and the power to change this world for the good.

“Free those who are wrongly imprisoned; lighten the burden of those who work for you. Let the oppressed go free, and remove the chains that bind people. Share your food with the hungry, and give shelter to the homeless. Give clothes to those who need them, and do not hide from relatives who need your help.” 

– Isaiah 58:6-7 NLT

“For I was hungry, and you fed me. I was thirsty, and you gave me a drink. I was a stranger, and you invited me into your home. I was naked, and you gave me clothing. I was sick, and you cared for me. I was in prison, and you visited me.” 

– Matthew 25:35-36 NLT

mourn

Death, as they say, is just a part of life. 

Recently it seems like Death has become prevalent in my life and the lives of those around me. Yesterday I found out my great-aunt passed away. She was an amazing woman who lived a full life. Today is a year and two months since my dear friend Ashley Cassell died. Last weekend a young woman who I didn't know, but who apparently touched the lives of many of my friends, passed away from cancer. Every day I hear stories of people dying all across this world. 

It breaks my heart. It brings us sadness and pain to know the ones we love are no longer here with us.

But one of the things I find so magnificent and hopeful about Christianity, and the story God is weaving with our lives, is that Death is not the end. Once again, I don't know your views on the afterlife or the supernatural or all this "Jesus" stuff, but for me I can't think of a more extraordinary belief than the great equalizer of Death being destroyed, subverted, conquered, disabled, and "laid in its grave.". Its grip is shattered and its overwhelming power taken away. This overcoming of Death ties in so well with God's redemptive, forgiving, merciful purpose in our world. As C. S. Lewis said, 

"We are told that Christ was killed for us, that His death has washed out our sins, and that by dying He has disabled death itself. That is the formula. That is Christianity."

Lewis was summarizing the Christian faith in the above passage, and I love "by dying He has disabled death itself." To me that is such a powerful statement. Paul wrote about death in his first letter to the Corinthians (15:55 NIV NLT MSG CEV), 

"Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?" 

"O death, where is your punishment? O grave, where is your sting?" 

"Who got the last word, Death? Death, who's afraid of you now?" 

"Death has lost the battle! Where is its victory? Where is its sting?"

From what I've read, Paul was referring to how sin and Law cause death, and subsequently how Christ's work on the cross disabled that death. It stings us and pains us, but it does not wield the ultimate power over us that it once did.

God's love is now the great equalizer. 

So we mourn and grieve with hope. 

Hope that death does not have the final word. 

Hope that mocks death's power. 

Hope that one day, our joy will be complete. 

"He will wipe every tear from their eyes, and there will be no more death or sorrow or crying or pain. All these things are gone forever." - Revelation 21:4 NLT

Another Season

Second day of living in Lynchburg.

I've discovered, once again, that God provides.

Whether it's a friend who was willing to cook me dinner, a Comcast Sales Rep who had a ton of connections, random encouragement, or something as simple as getting a picture to hang (mostly) straight, I've seen some incredible instances of God's provision in this new chapter of my life. A new season, as I've come to realize it. I've discovered that I've walked through various seasons of life during the past 22 years. There was everything in childhood leading up to graduating from high school, then a four year adventure at Tech, then eight months of summer/fall that included a temporary job, and now this new place and upcoming job. It's amazing to think about as I've reflected on this to varying degrees the past month or so. Incredible to see the changes in myself and others as the years go by.

But as I think of the new chapter of life ahead of me, I'm drawn back to remembering the impact and influence of past seasons. Most recently my time at Tech. It was such a time of discovery and motion. And even now, as my life has shifted locations, I feel connected to my Hokie family. As my friend Franklin told me, we are connected by bonds far stronger than distance. As I got to hang out with a couple friends from Tech today in Lynchburg, I was reminded of that. Such a blessing.

And so I begin this next chapter of my life. May I remember the lessons I've been taught. One of which I've noticed has been to be as outgoing and friendly as possible. Whether it was helping a lady load her groceries or chatting with a man at a local diner, a smile and helping hand are always good things.