I get a gift for Christmas, and it’s ugly. What do I do? Take it to Customer Service. They smile, ask how they can help, take my ugly item and give me money back or a voucher to by anything I want at the same price from their store.

I mean, really. They are so nice. That is something you can find in the ‘Kingdom’ of America.

But in just a few weeks, I will have lived in the ‘Kingdom’ of Indonesia for nine years. And in this ‘Kingdom,’ there is no Customer Service. I buy something that’s the wrong size. I take it back to the store. There is a lady at the information counter text messaging her friends. I say, “Umm… excuse me.” A minute later she looks up from her phone. I proceed to explain my situation. She says I can send it to the manufacturer in Jakarta. I explain that I actually just want to exchange it for a different size. At that moment, an old lady comes up to the counter with handfuls of shopping bags. She squeezes in front of me and drops all the bags onto the counter and walks into the store. The lady behind the counter puts all the bags into safekeeping and sits down in her chair. I start trying to explain my situation again. Her phone rings. She waves her hand at me, turns her body a little to the side and begins giggling with her friend on the phone. That conversation is over.

And so I go home and stash my item in a special cabinet of many other ugly gifts and mis-buys, to be dealt with the next time I move. That could make a person go ballistic right there in the store. It could invoke an eruption of expletives and calling in of the managers. But the thing is, I live in Indonesia. And that’s how it’s done here. So I have two options. Either get used to it (and start buying more carefully in the future)… or go back to America. Then I could have all the Customer Service I want.

The stress and tension of overseas living comes when I decide that want to live in both ‘kingdoms’ at the same time. I pick rules A, B, and C that I like from one country, and rules D, E, and F that I like from another country. Then I try to live by those six rules in either of the countries. And every time I choose to do that, I know that something bad is going to happen. The reality is, there is no way that I alone am going to single-handedly get an entire country to follow my personal favorite multi-national rules. So I made this decision early in my time in Indonesia: As long as I am living in this ‘kingdom,’ I will abide by its rules. That is not easy, because I still know the rules from America. But typically it causes a lot less life tension for me to live fully wherever I am. And over time, I’ve found that I actually like to live by some of these rules that once caused me anxiety.

And this brings me to Christmas…

I don’t know a lot about the Magi, but clearly these men realized it was worth it to leave their old kingdom in search of something new. Somewhere between their backgrounds in astronomy and the prophecies of old, they were compelled to expend a great deal of energy and money to search out and bow down before a baby King. I wonder what those wise men were thinking they would find as they left the East to worship the newborn King of the Jews? More than likely, their only experience with kings was equated with royalty. And then to find the child living in a simple home with a simple family and a less-than stellar birth story… I imagine that all took a little bit of mindset readjustment.

And I think it does for all of us who make the decision to accept this radically different King and to choose to submit fully to the rules of His Kingdom. Maybe if we were teleported instantly from earth to Heaven upon acceptance, it would be a different story. I hardly think we’d be having internal struggles and temptations in comparing the kingdom of earth and the Kingdom of God. We’d never look back. But in keeping with the mysteries of this King, we get our lifetimes to live submitted to the rules of the Kingdom of God while living here on earth. It’s the heavenly Kingdom superimposed onto earth. And as such, we become strangers in the place we used to call home. (Hebrews 11:13-16, Philippians 3:20)

When I’m tempted to start asking God why it has to be like this, two things come to mind. The first is that Jesus did it too. And it was worse for Him, for sure. I mean, right now, we’ve gotten glimpses of the Kingdom for which we are waiting. But really, we have no idea what we’re in for. We’re in queue for entrance to a place we can’t even fathom. Jesus, on the other hand, had lived in the perfection of that place for eternity. But upon seeing the depravity and despair of His creation, He forsook perfect comfort and entered misery intentionally. His purpose: to establish His Kingdom and to bring a fragrance and a glimpse of our inheritance.

Humanity is still trying to unravel the depths of His coming and His Word. It is a daily struggle to take up our crosses and follow Him, living fully by the rules of the Kingdom while being bound to the confines of the temporal. And really, could two kingdoms be any more different?

The temporal kingdom says, “Become all you can be.” The eternal kingdom says, “Become nothing.”

The temporal calls out, “Fight for your rights! Get revenge!” The eternal says, “Turn the other cheek.”

The temporal says, “You want it, you got it!” The eternal says, “Invest in things that can’t be taken or destroyed.”

The temporal says, “Do what feels good.” The eternal says, “This path is narrow and uncomfortable, and you’ll be lucky if you have a pillow.”

And on and on the differences present themselves. But if we choose to live fully in His Kingdom, people are going to stop and watch.

Which leads me to my second thought about why we should live by Kingdom rules on earth.

In the last 48 hours, two of my students have written me about the difficulties of living with parents who aren’t yet in the Kingdom. My heart broke for them as they told me about their desires to see their parents follow Christ and how no number of verses or Bible stories would convince them. But we know, deep down, it’s not really just about what we say. At the end of the day, it’s about how we live our lives… how we respond in crisis… how we interact with the unlovable and impossible.  It is those times which leave the argumentative speechless. And it is in those times that the Holy Spirit moves and removes the veil.

A month ago, I watched another fellow citizen of the Kingdom stand firm for his eternal country. This was a former Korean student of mine who came back to speak to my current juniors and seniors a month ago. He graduated from the most prestigious university in South Korea, and he shared with us his story of going in as a freshman to learn that if you didn’t do whatever the seniors told you to do in the first week of hazing, you were sure to be an outcast. But his foundation was secure, and he never stopped living for the King. He told of how God blessed everything he put his hand to through his undergraduate career and how he was a leader and successful in all his pursuits. And he told of how he grew in patience and wisdom as he was rejected from the “worst” medical schools in Korea for two years in a row, only to be accepted by the top one in the nation on his third try. His testimony shone brightly in his sphere of influence as he persevered in living in the Kingdom of God.

And again, just yesterday, I saw the Kingdom shine on earth through my friend David. He’s been a fellow co-worker of mine for the last six years.  A month ago he went to Singapore to check out some acute chronic pain in his knee. The result: Stage 4 terminal cancer, metastasized throughout his body.  The news has rocked our school community and left many stunned and asking questions. I believe David and his wife and four children have plenty of their own. But in the midst of devastation, one thing is sure. David is a citizen of the Kingdom. He and his wife are exhibiting a response that is, quite frankly, unearthly. There just is no way for a hopeless human being to respond to this news with Hope and Peace. No way. Those responses come from something extraordinary and supernatural. They flow from hearts of those whose eyes are fixed on Jesus. As I translated for David and Kim at the hospital yesterday, my eyes welled up as I had to relay yet more bad news to them about the excruciating pain that he continues to experience in his knee. We had hoped the doctor might be able to provide a temporary reprieve from the pain. But there was nothing more that could be done. They exchanged knowing nods and gentle smiles, and but beyond that was again, an indescribable sense of peace. Their knees, no matter how painful, are bent to the One to whom their lives belong. And there is no question to anyone watching that they do not live for themselves. When they said, “My life is no longer mine but Yours,” they meant it.

There just is no denying the fruit of those who are citizens of the Kingdom. The way is hard, but there is joy that is unmistakable. My King Jesus says don’t look back. Don’t try to live by the “best” of both worlds. He says choose which Kingdom you are going to live in and then live fully there.

So again, today, I choose His Kingdom. In it is true Joy, Freedom, and Peace.

May this be your decision as well. And may our decisions be a testimony to all around us until the King calls us Home.

Blessings to you in this season that we remember and celebrate our King!

It feels comfy inside.

In July, I moved to this house in a little village just outside the city where my school is. It has a very rural feeling, and it’s not uncommon to see a pair of water buffalo plodding down our muddy road or a flock of rice ducks eating the remains of a freshly harvested rice field.

Unfortunately, I’m rarely at home. With the hectic pace of school life, there is a continual struggle to find the balance of spending time with neighbors and of resting and retreating into “comfy-ness.” My neighbors and I live in two very different worlds. And as we pass each other coming and going, without fail they will ask, “Where are you coming from?” or “Where are you going?” The normal and expected answer would be, “Going out,” or “Coming home.” However, you can imagine how deep relationships get when that is the extent of the conversation. Why do we so often converse in such shallowness? The how-are-you-I-am-fine interaction can’t be a God-honoring one. The Author of the Universe is writing a story in each of us. And it seems that if we acknowledge Him as the most Perfect Writer, we should not feel afraid to freely share what He is writing in our lives (even if the story is not yet finished!)

Let the redeemed of the Lord tell their story - Those He redeemed from the hand of the foe… Psalm 107:2

Psalm 107 beautifully depicts the stories of various groups of people who have been redeemed. Verses 4-9 talk about those who were homeless and starving and how the Father met their needs completely. Verses 10-22 talk about those in prison and suffering because of their own rebellion and how they cried out for His mercy and He freed and healed them. Verses 23-32 talk about those in dangerous professions who relied on Him for their very lives and how He so willingly came to their rescue. Regardless of the situation, the exhortation of the psalmist is for them to talk about it and to share the stories with joy in public places so that His works receive even greater praise.

This season, we celebrate the greatest story that has ever been written. It is the story of God sending His Son to us to rescue us from ourselves and the enemy, with no expectation in return, except to believe it and to live like ones who have been freed! Our personal life stories, then, are merely re-confirmations of the Great Story we celebrate this season! The happenings of our daily lives become opportunities for us, and those around us, to be reminded that He is still saving and redeeming us today.

As we celebrate this Christmas, let’s intentionally recognize how He has weaved our stories into His! Our stories are living testimonies of the Truth that a Savior was born – Truth that has the power to bring great joy to all people. Without question, someone in each of our lives needs to hear these stories – His Story – today. May we not minimize or be ashamed to share what He has done and is doing still.

My parents got her after I left for college, so I only watched her grow up from a distance, with intermittent visits through the years.  I remember her vibrance and orneriness as a puppy. And I remember seeing her mellow through months of training and strict discipline from her trainer, my dad.

She could sit in a hunting blind for hours and not move a muscle…something even I was not very good at. Her obedience in everything from when to eat her doggie treat to when to fetch up a downed quail was quite impressive. On a walk around the park, she didn’t need to wear a leash, even in the midst of scampering squirrels and barking dogs. She might wander a little from the path once in a while, but at a word, she would return and walk close to her master.

About a year after I tore my ACL, Java tore hers. I had surgery. She didn’t. It slowly healed, but her life slowed down a little after that.  Her sprinting and retrieving days were over. But she still loved to go out. She rarely missed an opportunity to jump in (or be hoisted into!) the truck with her master to watch wildlife or walk around and explore a new park or forest.

Last month when I was home, it was obvious that she was not doing well. She was slower to respond and less excited about eating. Who knows how much pain she was experiencing…  But I learned something from her during that time.  Despite her sickness and age, she remained faithful and obedient. When Dad would tell her it was time to go, she would muster everything she had and get up and go.

To be totally honest, I’m not a huge dog fan. But Java unknowingly modeled something to me that I will never forget – faithfulness to her master.

In less than a week, I will be moving back to Bandung again. It is hard to believe that it has already been a year. Once again, I’m filled with the tensions of transition and the questions of the unknowns that lie ahead. It can become so complicated and convoluted, with thoughts filled of ‘what ifs.’

Sometimes I’m simply faithful to obey without asking questions. And sometimes I want to know all the reasons before I take a step. I am reminded of a verse a friend gave me recently:

Let love and faithfulness never leave you;

bind them around your neck,

write them on the tablet of your heart.

– Proverbs 3:3

Maybe Java understood this best. She had a little metal bone that hung around her neck with the name of her address and owner. And she had nothing without him.

Today as I begin to pack and move again, I remember when I gave my life to my Master when I was 7. And at that moment my life was no longer my own. I was given a tag… a seal, actually… which showed His ownership of my life, with an address marking my citizenship in Heaven. (1 Cor 6:19-20, 2 Cor 1:21-22, Phil 3:20)

I have nothing without my Master. Though the cost to stay by His side is sometimes difficult (when it might be more fun to run off and chase the squirrels), He provides for my daily existence. That should be enough.

But I remember the ongoing discussion in our house on what Java was allowed to eat. In theory, she was to eat dog food twice a day. That was supposed to be enough. But Dad just couldn’t help it. He had to give her “a taste” of what was on his plate after a meal. She didn’t beg. But she did sit at his side at each meal waiting, knowing that he would at least let her lick the plate…if not give her some solid chunks of table scraps!

And indeed, my Master is no different. It should be enough that he provides my daily bread. But He is an outrageously lavish Master. I have more than I could ask for. All the more reason to learn to be content to walk faithfully by His side.

Throughout the book of Revelation, we see a continual call to be faithful until death to our Master whose name is Faithful. (Rev 19:11) And really, if I can stop for a minute to regain an eternal perspective, that is really all I want. When I die, really all that matters is that I can stand in the presence of my Master and hear Him say, “Well done, good and faithful servant.”

Thanks, Java, for reminding me of that today. And if your sole life purpose was to be a picture of simple and unwavering faithfulness to the Master until death, then I praise the Father for how you have challenged those who knew you or will hear your story.

And then I moved. Due to drought and other setbacks, our field was not ready for harvest on the last day of school as expected, and we left the campus that day with the wind still blowing through the rice stalks. It was a “Kodak Moment” of sorts. That picture is etched in my mind, because it was one of the few things in my life that I have left undone. But it was time to move on to a new calling in another part of Indonesia.

A month later, I received pictures from a friend who took pictures of the harvest. That was such a strange feeling!  It was a mixture of disappointment that I didn’t get to be there to help and a sense of accomplishment that at least someone finished it! And then 1 Cor 3:6-8 came to mind:

I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God made it grow. So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow. The man who plants and the man who waters have one purpose, and each will be rewarded according to his own labor.

It’s easy to start referring to what we do as “ours.” And that can be a pretty clear indicator of the short-sightedness and limited perspective of our spiritual eyes. But there’s nothing better than a passage like this to regain vision and perspective! We are merely servants working on farm larger than we can imagine! And our job is to be faithful with the day’s task. Sometimes, we’re given the job to plant, and sometimes to water.  Sometimes we even get to help with the harvest and enjoy the fruits of our labor. But the Great Farmer will be the One who should be getting the credit in the end.

About a month ago, I was working with a team of students to build a volleyball court on a poor island with a population of less than 500. When we arrived to begin the project, one of our team leaders noticed that the land was slightly unlevel. So we went to the village leader to discuss the matter. We explained that if we built the court on the ground as it was, it might only last a year, and if they wanted it to last for 50 years, we should take the time to level the ground first. At first the village leader wasn’t quite sure why the court needed to last 50 years. But after some further talks, we decided to start the process of leveling the ground.

That sounded nice, in theory. The problem was the soil. Actually, I’m not sure you could even call it soil. It was essentially rocks glued tightly together with clay. We would swing our cangkul (hoe-like tools) with all our might, only to make a small indention into the ground, and we felt proud of ourselves if we could get a cup of gravel into our scoop to move to the other end of the court. After about three hours of doing that kind of work in full sun on the Equator, I stopped and looked around. Our team was wasted, and we hadn’t even started making the cement yet. I began to wonder if that was a very good use of our energy.

And that was another Kodak Moment. As my cangkul hit the ground again, I was reminded of that mental snapshot of the rice field from a year ago. Sometimes the work is hard. And sometimes we don’t get to see the end result. But the part we are called to play is important.

I recently went back to 1 Cor 3 again, to review the verses that had spoken to me a year ago. To my amazement, as I kept reading, there was another fitting treasure in verses 10-11:

By the grace God has given me, I laid a foundation as an expert builder, and someone else is building on it. But each one should be careful how he builds. For no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ.

Sure. We could have ignored the grade on that court and laid the cement as it was. But… that would not have been very expert-like! And in the same way, we can be lazy in our callings too. We can cut corners. Take the easy way out. Save ourselves the effort and pain. But if we can zoom out to see the bigger picture, we will remember that it’s not just about us and our work right now. What we do now affects who builds on our work later. We should be careful how we build! And without excuse, the Son should be a part of everything that we lay down.  Building with anything else won’t work!

Father, help us to do what you’ve called us to do faithfully. Give us perseverance when “our” work seems to be going nowhere. And give us open hands to surrender “our” work when it’s time to pass it on to someone else. Above all, remind us that it’s really not “our” work at all. It’s Yours.

“We have a black spot in the center of our eyes with black around the outside. You have black in the inside with blue on the outside. That means you’re not human.” It was obvious that she was quite proud of her revelation and that she had finally made sense of the confusion in her head. She then scanned the other American girls in the room. “These two are not human either.” (They had blue eyes as well.) “But this one… she is human.” (She had dark brown eyes.)

I began trying to translate this to my friends, when Melly interrupted again. “Only animals like elephants and snakes and rhinoceroses have blue eyes. You are animals. Only black eyes are humans.” I told her that there were also humans with green eyes, and she was incredulous, demanding to know what country had such people. We had to stifle our laughter, when we realized that she really believed what she had deduced. Melly lived far inland on an island that rarely had guests. Nearly all of her life experiences had involved the 150 residents of that island. Her whole worldview was shaped in that place. She could only make conclusions based on what she knew.

When I was a child, flannelgraphs had just about run their course. However, I still remember a number of blue boards with multi-colored, cloth cut outs of Old Testament characters and nativity scenes. That, accompanied by some Sunday School workbooks and some Bible story picture books at home, encompassed my understanding of the Truth.

Our recent trip to Melly’s village changed her perspective about humanity forever. And in the same way, the Father uses life experiences to reveal more and more to us about who He is! Through the painful, stretching and sometimes confusing periods of our lives, He emerges from the flannelgraph and becomes REAL. And His realness changes our perspective forever.

In the past, I have written about how I love when He introduces Himself to me by a new name. In serious illness, He has come to me as Healer. In loneliness, He’s come to me as Friend. And the list goes on! Recently, I was putting together a worship set for our local fellowship, and the topic was Creation. As I sang through the song set and pondered the words, I was drawn to my knees, overwhelmed by how He is Worthy to receive our praise!

Great is the Lord and most Worthy of praise! His greatness no one can fathom!
Psalm 145:3

Why can no one fathom it? Perhaps, like Melly, we’ve just never seen it before. The difference is, she has an excuse! Of course she’d never seen blue eyes before! But what about us? Do we have an excuse?

For since the creation of the world, God’s invisible qualities – his eternal power and divine nature – have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse.
Romans 1:20

From this, I would have to conclude that we don’t have an excuse! Why has it just now sunk in to me that He is Worthy??? Probably because I have a hard head and walk around with my eyes closed a lot. Oh, to be in a spirit of humility and attentiveness more often!

After I met Him as Worthy the other day, it changed the way I looked at life. Up to this point, my life has resonated with Isaiah 61:1-3. It says that with the Spirit of the Sovereign Lord upon me, I am anointed to speak good news to the poor, bring freedom to those in bondage, comfort those who mourn and more! It’s been my joy to do this for the last few years. But what’s the point? What is the point of people becoming free and whole? Then what? If my life purpose is for that alone, it seems simply humanitarian in nature. Lots of people are in the business of fixing problems.

But when I went back to this passage after I met Worthy, a new part of that passage glowed before my eyes!

They will be called oaks of righteousness,
a planting of the Lord for the display of His splendor.
Isaiah 61:3b

THIS is the point! Not for people to be healed and problem-free! It’s so that they will root in and grow to become huge spiritual trees that proclaim He is Worthy! He is worthy of more praise than He is getting from Planet Earth right now, isn’t He?

Do we see God as so Great and Worthy that our life purpose is to actively recruit more worshippers? What does it look like to live a life that results in God receiving more praise?

I will extol the Lord at all times; His praise will always be on my lips.
Psalm 34:1

O Lord, open my lips, and my mouth will declare your praise.
Psalm 51:15

Because your love is better than life, my lips will glorify you.
Psalm 63:3

It starts by speaking His praises! It has been convicting to me to consider how much comes out of my mouth that is NOT praiseworthy!

Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing. My brothers, this should not be. Can both fresh water and salt water flow from the same spring?
James 3:10-11

Certainly this is a good place to start! What if we spent more time with praise on our lips, recounting what He has done for us? What happened when the captives were brought back from Zion?

Our mouths were filled with laughter, our tongues with songs of joy. Then it was said among the nations, “The Lord has done great things for them.”
Psalm 126:2

I love that passage! God revealed Himself to them as the Rescuer. They overflowed with joy and praise. And every nation who observed them acknowledged the greatness of their King. They recruited more worshippers by their words and their lives!

Father, forgive us when we reduce you to a two-dimensional flannelgraph figure. Forgive us when we have such a narrow view of you that we make false generalizations of you, like Melly did with my blue eyes. Forgive us when we use our mouths both as vessels of cursing and vessels of praise. It shouldn’t be like that! You, Worthy One, deserve more praise than you are getting! And it is the least we can do to devote our lives to the recruiting of more worshippers! May your Spirit be upon us to share your truth of healing and restoration so that, as it says in Isaiah 61, there will be a vast forest of oaks, planted for the display of your splendor!

Imagine hearing about this Child for the first time! What a responsibility those shepherds held! They became the first to go out and share the Truth of the promise fulfilled in Jesus!

Recently I was out in a village and my host decided I needed a new Indonesian name. So she gave me the name Siti Marium. I asked her how she came up with that, and she said, “Because you’re honest and unmarried… and you gave birth to a perfect child.” I realized she was giving me the English-equivalent or the name Mary, though I was a little confused about what the connection was, since I have not had a child! She laughed and said, “Well, you’re honest and unmarried anyway!” How, in two days, could she determine that I was honest??? So funny.

But that gave me something to think about.

Honesty. It implies that you speak Truth… like the shepherds did. If the shepherds had wanted, they could have kept what they had seen and heard to themselves. Or they could have told people any number of partial or distorted truths. But according to Luke, they spread what had been told to them… straight from the angel of the Lord. And you can bet that the angel of the Lord spoke nothing less than Truth!

One of my favorite things I’ve learned about Jesus this year comes from the story of Him with the woman at the well. When Jesus presented the concept of Living Water, the woman asked where such water could be found. He said,

“But those who drink the water I give will never be thirsty again. It becomes a fresh, bubbling spring within them, giving them eternal life.” John 4:14 (NLT)

I had never really grasped the fact that He doesn’t just offer a glass of thirst-quenching water, but places in us an eternal spring of it! In the last six months, I have spent a fair amount of time drawing water from and bathing at community wells in local villages. It has given me an even greater appreciation for the value of spring-fed wells. On some islands where there is no well, the people must take large empty jugs by boat to neighboring islands to draw their fresh water. What a benefit to have the Spring of Living Water within us!!! I was helping a man draw water from a well one day (a 15-minute boat ride, plus a 5-minute jungle hike from his home), and I asked him what he would think about a kind of spring that produced water that would quench thirst forever. He laughed, hoisted up his jug of water, and said, “This one doesn’t do that,” and walked back to the boat. Later on, I couldn’t help sharing a little more with him about the Living Water. When you’ve got a Spring within you, you can’t keep the Truth from bubbling out!

And I imagine that was the same source of joy and excitement that bubbled out of the shepherds as they shared the Truth of whom they had encountered in the manger. What excitement to see that what the angel had told them was really true!

But 2000 years later, you would probably agree that Truth is pretty hard to find. We live in a world where it’s ok to have your own “truth,” and it’s ok to share and accept other’s “truths” as long as all are tolerated. These “truths” don’t come from Springs of Living Water but from the heart of human wisdom and perspective. And since we know that the heart is deceitful above all else (Jer 17:9), then these nuggets of “truth” are lies, even if there are some elements of truth within them. Satan disguises himself as an angel of light! (2 Cor 11:14) That angel can sometimes be difficult to differentiate from the angel of the Lord seen in Luke 2. So we must be vigilant to stay close to Jesus, the Truth! (John 14:6)

This week I met four women who were the victims of lies. When we entered the small room, the women politely greeted us as we entered, but immediately sat down again with arms crossed and eyes downturned. As the employees of the shelter scrambled around to find chairs for all ten of us visitors, my heart sank. It was obvious that these women did not want to talk, despite what the case workers had insisted in their office. The room became uncomfortably quiet, and my mind raced with questions. How do you begin a conversation with women who have just been rescued from sex trafficking?

I was about ready to take my friends (a women’s advocacy group) and leave, when one of the girls began talking. She shared of how men had come to her village and promised her work at a new restaurant in a far away city. Desperate for money, she accepted the offer. The story was the same for the others as well. Fortunately three of them had been rescued before they were forced into a prostitution circle. The fourth had already been in forced prostitution for the last two months. They had fallen prey to lies.

Tonight as I read about liars and false teachers in 2 Peter, I was shocked to find another reference to springs!

“These men are springs without water…” 2 Peter 2:17a

Of course they are! There is no Truth in them! And it goes on to say,

“For they mouth empty, boastful words and, by appealing to the lustful desires of sinful human nature, they entice people who are just escaping from those who live in error.” 2 Peter 2:18

As I read that verse, I couldn’t help but see the parallels between human traffickers and false teachers. What are the false teachers doing? They are using lies to seduce the weak into destruction. It’s Soul trafficking.

“[False teachers] promise them freedom, while they themselves are slaves of depravity – for a man is a slave to whatever has mastered him. If they have escaped the corruption of the world by knowing our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and are again entangled in it and overcome, they are worse off at the end than they were at the beginning.” 2 Peter 2:19-20

I am equally devastated at the total depravity of mankind reflected through the human trafficking industry, as I am the tragedy of false teaching and tolerance of human wisdom leading to the “trafficking” of souls. I am shocked at the commonalities.

Father, more than ever, I want my words to be Your words of Truth! May it be far from me that I would lead someone astray by my own empty philosophy. And I want to have a discerning spirit that can clearly recognize Truth from lies to not be led astray myself. I am so blessed by the spring of Living Water that You place in each of us who choose to follow You. It makes it impossible for me to keep silent about the Gift!

And I am so thankful for the simple Truth that was revealed to the shepherds so long ago: “Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; He is Christ the Lord.” Luke 2:11

And give us humility to receive correction when we stray from Word so that Your Son will be seen clearly through us and that those around us will be amazed, as they were through the testimony of the shepherds long ago.

“Nope,” I answered, somewhat proud of my ability to tune it out after years of hearing it. Then I started feeling a little guilty about that pride. Why would I want to be deaf to such a frequent reminder that God is Great?

And that made me realize just how many times I really have missed a call to prayer, in the last month alone…

… in reports of earthquakes, lost lives, and fear.
… in announcements of friends leaving Indonesia soon.
… in updates of my ailing grandmother.
… in tearful phone calls with broken friends and former students.
… in letters, emails and text messages asking for help.
… in three consecutive trips canceled.
… in difficult and disappointing news.

These are my calls to pray. And I have been so unfaithful.

I forget.
I read and delete.
I think about it and fall asleep.
I listen and commiserate.
I try to use my own logic, strength and “wisdom” to find solutions.
Or I succumb to the overwhelming-ness of it all and settle for “what will be, will be.”

I am often guilty of being deaf to the call to prayer.

Who do I think the Father is? Do I think He is too far off to speak to? Do I merely pay homage to him as the Athenians did to the “unknown god?” (Acts 17)

Am I not familiar with the One I have devoted my life to serve? I know Him! So why, then, is it so hard to talk to Him?

Do I really believe He hears? Have I not read of His mighty works in response to the cries of His children throughout the ages? He has been consistently faithful to hear and to respond. And He promises to draw near to us if we would just draw near to Him. (James 4:8)

I guess it’s just hard sometimes when you don’t hear anything… when it seems like nothing happens. This morning as I was thinking about that silence, I ran across Prov 28:9. “If anyone turns a deaf ear to the law, even his prayers are detestable.” And it occurred to me that perhaps, it’s not just that I’m deaf to the call to prayer, but that from time to time, I may also be deaf to the law and straying from His Truth.

It doesn’t take a hearing aid to fix this deafness.

It takes humility and repentance.

It takes stillness and a quiet mind and heart.

And it takes simple faith to believe that, “The eyes of the Lord are on the righteous and his ears are attentive to their cry.” (Ps 34:15)

So I respond, again, to the call to prayer.

I acknowledge that He is Great.

I come asking for Him to show me my faults, and I confess and repent, so that I am right with Him… so that my prayers come before Him like a sweet fragrance… and so that others can see He is Great through my life.

And I ask Him to so captivate me that my thoughts are a stream of conversation with Him and that every life situation is funneled through that stream.

Ironically, as I finish this, the call to prayer bellows over the speakers outside. It says that God is great.

He who has ears, let Him hear.

But amidst projects and camping trips and banquets and good-bye parties and finals and packing… phew. It was just nuts. I didn’t have time to sit down with a mirror and try to see what the problem was. As long as I was distracted and busy though, it didn’t really seem to bother me too much.

And then, on June 14, I moved to another city in Indonesia, and all of the sudden, I became a LOT less busy. The bosses were away. Other employees were very busy with their own projects. My new housemate was packing to leave for 3 months. And for the first time in a long time, I wasn’t the busy one. So I bought a motorbike and started exploring the city. This is when I really started noticing this thing in my eye.

The drivers here are incredibly impatient. In Bandung, they honk to tell you they are passing or to announce that the light is almost ready to turn green. Here, they honk out of anger… or in combination with yelling “BULE!” out the window as they pass. For some reason, they feel the need to remind me I am a white person (the translation of bule). I hate it when they do that. I’m already frustrated enough with this thing in my eye.

I also hate it when I’m in line and people shove by me to move to the front. I mean, I really hate that. I was in a long line of motorbikes to get into a parking garage the other day, and this guy from the back pulled out of line and drove all the way to the front. I could not believe that the person in front let him in! It happened to me at the grocery store too. The checkers are so slow. Really slow. It doesn’t seem to phase them whether there is one person in line or 50. Same checking speed. So the lines are all really long, and there are always people in the back that start shoving… like we used to do in the drinking fountain line in elementary school. I usually just brace myself since I’m typically stronger and bigger than the average pushy woman in line. But sometimes they just come right around you and push all the way to the front of the line. I will confess that once, I sensed a woman was going to do that, so I just spread my legs a little wider apart… sort of like a defensive basketball stance… and basically blocked her out.

And I started noticing that the more this thing in my eye was annoying me, the more the “city life” annoyed me too.

So I was happy to find out that I would spend almost the whole month of July out on the islands with several groups of tourists. It was good to be away from the city for a while. It’s a slower pace of life on the islands, and there are no long lines or road ragers. Finally some peace.

On the first island we visited, I came upon a group of little children playing a game together. The youngest boy of the group obviously did not know the rules to the game, but he was convinced he did. Every time a person “messed up” (according to him), he would call him or her stupid and tell the child not to play the game anymore. Unbelievably, the older children just went along with his rules, which changed continually throughout the game depending on whether he was winning or losing. Kids…

On another island, I watched a woman pester a three-year-old by jokingly trying to steal his helium balloon. The kid would respond by screaming, sticking his tongue out at her and then slapping her. Finally after several rounds of this, he got so mad at the woman provoking him that he threw the balloon over the dock so that the woman couldn’t have it. She caught it just before it slipped away, which made him even angrier. Later that day, I watched the father of that home teach that same kid how to smoke. Three years old! The man thought it was so funny and definitely wanted to make sure that the tourists staying in his home saw his brilliant idea.

Part of me thought those interactions were pretty funny. But part of me was frustrated by how they incessantly egged the child on. My eye was really bothering me that day though. There was no mirror in the bathroom and the lighting in the house was dim. I purposed to take the time to figure out what was wrong with my eye when I returned home.

On my last day on the islands, there was a huge championship soccer match. Sixty-two other teams in the area had been eliminated. It was down to two, and one was our hosting island. So we all got in boats and rode over to a neighboring island to watch the event. When we arrived, I immediately noticed a covered area on the far end of the field. Under the canopy were very ornate “thrones.” Soon, a very important looking man was escorted to sit there, flanked by 6 bodyguards. What in the world??? This island population was probably less than 1000 people. The fans probably totaled 400 at most. Why would this guy possibly need bodyguards? It turned out that he was the one sponsoring the tournament. He was the head of a large fishing association in the region. It was explained to me that indeed, he did not need the bodyguards for protection. He brought them to show his power and wealth. For some reason, that just made my blood boil.

So when I returned home, I sat down to ponder the injustices and annoyances I had witnessed over the last month. What is it that bothered me so much? I certainly had lots of wonderful people while on the islands. I then recalled the sweet kid I met who had a persistent eye infection. His eyes were so red. I didn’t have any medicine to give him, but I told him I would ask the Father to heal him. I wondered how his eyes were doing now.

And that reminded me of my own eye issue. I reached to scratch my eye and felt something. It was big. I jumped to look in the mirror and gasped.

I had a plank in my eye.

How does a person go for months and not see it? I mean, shouldn’t it be so obvious? I’m in front of a mirror every day! I guess it all depends how much time you spend really looking.

Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? How can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye. Matt 7:3-5

Humanity is just full of itself, isn’t it? Actually… I’ll change the pronoun and just speak for myself here. I am full of self. Really, when it comes down to it, I love to be first, and I love to be right. If I don’t constantly check myself and my motives, I could easily monopolize every conversation to make myself be the hero. I can get defensive when I’m contradicted or not heard. I can pout and pity myself when I don’t get what I want. And all of this adds up to… hmm… probably about a two-by-four plank.

I’ve been teaching biology for almost seven years now, but I can’t quite understand this concept: How can a plank in a person’s eye act as a microscope? It’s solid, yet it literally magnifies every tiny thing in sight! Drivers, shoppers, parents, friends, kids… all of them and their faults become huge through the plank eye.

Sigh. So I go back to the Word, the mirror of the soul, and I find this:

For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will save it. Luke 9:24

It’s easy to try to preserve and justify my culture and my actions. But the Father never tells us to do that. He says, “Lose it.”

He says, “Deny yourself and follow me.” I walk around full of myself all day long, and He says empty yourself. I follow my own desires, but He says follow Him.

What an interesting paradigm. So I look back through the stories of my last few months and now I can understand why these things frustrate me so much! I’m just seeing my own behavior acted out in others.

And so begins the journey of growing in humility. I was listening to a man talk about this topic the other day and he said (paraphrased), “We think we deserve all this stuff to make us happy. We feel like we have all these rights. But actually, all we really deserve is hell. That’s it. Just hell. Everything else is the Father’s grace demonstrated to us… even the pain and frustrations of life. Even those things are ultimately outpourings of His grace.”
There is no possible way to have that life perspective with a plank in the eye though. So I’ve scheduled an appointment with the Great Physician. He’s willing to do this multi-step surgery for free… and we’ve already begun the process. I know it’s going to hurt, but He is gentle and knows how much I can handle in a day.

I hear He still has space in His schedule if you’d like to make an appointment too.