Jesus is Pro-Life

1 Peter 3:8 tells us to live in harmony. But it doesn't stop there... Peter gets more specific so that we don't misunderstand what harmony means. Harmony means a lot more than just co-existing with people... it means being compassionate, loving, and humble. Don't seek revenge, don't do evil... but don't just not do those things... give blessing, do good, pursue peace instead. It's a high calling. It requires action, not just passivity. It's asking us to be CONNECTED to one another.

And asking us to be connected is not a simple request. If we're connected, that means that your life affects mine. To me, it means that I'm not alright if people in Ethiopia don't have clean water to drink or shoes to put on their feet. It means that when I want to choose the convenience of the 75% off rack at JCPenney or the cheaper coffee instead of the free trade, I have to really consider how my actions affect another. If I buy cheap coffee or support stores that do, I'm a part of the chain of oppression that doesn't allow for decent wages for a coffee bean farmer. I don't want to be a part of that. I want farmers to make enough money to support their families. 

But sometimes we get so lost in our causes. My friend Dana Beth wonders that if people are so against homosexuality, why aren't they willing to take in or mentor a girl who has been abused? Why wouldn't they want to directly address the factors that might cause someone to become gay? And I wonder why people advocate for pro-life and are very against abortion, but they don't take particular care for children who are orphans or in general, anyone who is poor, oppressed, and lost. Being pro-life should mean going out and spreading Jesus' love around so that those who are dead inside can know what life is. It's a bunch of baloney, really, that people can call themselves pro-life and choose to ignore the fact that slaves made their clothing. We misuse the environment, causing others to suffer because their water is contaminated or their resources are depleted. We get lost in our causes and forget the people and the calling.

But if I believe that my God is all about wanting the best life for everyone, that Jesus came here to give me life, and that we were called to live in harmony with one another... then I think we have to care about these things.

Jesus is most definitely pro-life. He heals people, frees them from their sin, feeds them, and loves the hell out of them. Jesus wouldn't hold a sign and picket the abortion clinic. And if Jesus wouldn't do it, then maybe we should ask ourselves why we do it. The calling is to live in harmony. The calling is to give blessing and do good. Be connected, be pro-life. And don't just be pro-life, DO pro-life. It's a high calling. But God wants the best life for us, so if this is what He's asking, then the calling must be worth it...

D is for Deforestation

God's intention was right relationships in the world between him and the people, between people and people, and between people and the earth. Original sin messed all that up; original sin marked the first time that man thought of himself before others. Eve didn't think of trusting and obeying God, and she didn't think about how her actions would affect Adam. That's kind of what sin boils down to, isn't it? Thinking of ourselves first, before obeying God, before how our actions might affect others. It was the beginning of disconnect, where Eve just had blinders on and saw only herself.

But God created this complex world where everything is connected. When I was in my environmental science class, I was just in awe to learn how intricately connected everything in nature is. For example, in any forest, you have the small plants and animals that are on the forest floor. If there aren't any trees in an area, the microclimate that usually exists for these smaller organisms changes drastically. So these small plants are sparse, which leaves the herbivores that usually eat those plants without food. They start dying out or moving to other areas, which leaves the bigger animals who feed on those small animals without food. In addition to a lack of food, the bigger animals that might make a tree their home are left without shelter. Any bodies of water around the area suffer because they derive a lot of nutrients from leaves that fall into the water. And I can't forget to mention the bacteria, which doesn't have anymore dead matter to feed on because we clear-cutted the forest. That doesn't seem important, BUT they are an important connector in the chain.

In God's design, everything is connected, and it's so beautiful... but there's one huge problem... we live in a fallen world where we are disconnected from creation. But here's the thing, if everything depends on everything else in nature, that must mean mankind is part of that, too. We depend on nature A LOT, but we're pretty disconnected from that. We don't hunt our own animals, grow our own vegetables, cut down our own trees to fashion our chairs. We don't have any idea where our stuff is coming from or what the impact is.

It's easy for us to be short-sighted and thinking that we don't make a difference as an individual. I sometimes even have to remind myself that one plastic bottle that I throw away doesn't make a difference, but it does... because that's just one more person to the millions who adds more waste to the world.

Forget the whole thing about climate change and what not... I get that people don't believe in global warming. Frankly, I don't think that's the root of the issue here. In the practical sense, we are using our resources at a rate that is much, much faster than they can be reproduced; sustainability should be on our minds because once we run out of stuff, then what are we going to do? I think if we were even a little more connected to where our stuff is coming from, we'd see that we do have an impact. There are landfills in third world countries, namely China, Nigeria, and India, where we dump all of our old electronics. Waste gives off chemicals that seep into our groundwater, which is bad for our country, BUT we have the money (aka your tax dollars) to make landfills more safe so that we aren't drinking toxic water. But what about third world countries? So workers in those countries have to disassemble our old electronics, and they are actually handling these chemicals. This is not safe, but what choice do they have? Then said chemicals get into their groundwater, which flows into their rivers, and they drink it. So if you care about the justice issue of clean water, it's not just about digging wells, but it's about creating less waste that pollutes their water in the first place.

And here's the thing, I don't even know if anyone bothered to read all of this. I don't know if anyone saw the word "deforestation" and was immediately put off. But I'd ask you why. Why are you disinterested in the environment? I think our sinful nature causes this disconnect that we don't actually think what we do could possibly affect someone across the world. God's restoration is all about connecting a disconnected world. That can happen as simply as making the choice to reuse bags instead of getting plastic ones at the store, recycling paper instead of throwing it away, and just reducing the amount of stuff that we have and use.

I think Jesus was totally a hippie, and if he were walking around today, he would be all about the environment. He would tell parables about our attitudes of wanting whatever is most convenient for us. I think Jesus would look at a forest that has been clear-cutted, and it would hurt him to see that disconnect. He'd be sad that His father created all this beautiful stuff, and we didn't care enough about it to take care of it.

God is all about us being different from the world. So what does our use of the resources in the environment say about how we feel about the God who created it all? I think He has a few things to say about this:

Re--

Speaking of restoration, I read on someone's facebook status that this is the year of re--... I have no idea what he or she meant by it, but it stuck out to me because our spring conferences for InterVarsity in our area are called Restore and Release. We just had our Restore conference this past weekend at Dickinson College. We were given an hour of silence time for personal reflection at the conference in which I really thought a lot about my own restoration. I wanted to pray for the Millersville students, my LVC friends, and other things, but I had to keep reminding myself that I needed to focus on my own restoration during this hour rather than others. I know it may sound selfish, but I thought of a quote of Thomas Drier that says, "You cannot add to the peace and good will of the world if you fail to create an atmosphere of harmony and love right where you live and work." After going to Urbana and getting all fired up about restoring God's kingdom around the world, it was very fitting to have a conference where we focused on our own restoration because that needs to happen first. It occurred to me that I cannot expect to go out and restore the world if I do not first let God restore me.

Betsy talked last night at our IV meeting about the Hebrew people being enslaved in Egypt before the exodus. They had been slaves there for 400 years so generations had not known what it was like to worship God. They had been in the Egyptian culture for so long, so when Moses asks them to trust God as He freed them, the Hebrew people don't really want to. Even after they're free and wandering in the desert, they're mad at Moses because they would rather have stayed slaves. That's all they knew. But how ridiculous to want to be slaves when God is offering freedom! Betsy compared this to the gods that we worship in our culture, such as image, success, or addictions. It's sick to think that we would experience Stockholm Syndrome to the culture that tries to enslave us and start thinking positively towards these captors when we could be free from these things in Christ. Why do we think it's easier to remain slaves?

When I reflected a few weeks ago about how I see God, the first thing I thought of was a friend of mine who had been enslaved by an eating disorder. She struggled for a long time with it, but one day, she was free. God set her free! I'm not saying it wasn't a process--that it's just easy. But she experienced freedom that only comes from God. And THAT is who my God is. My God gives FREEDOM! Jesus came that we might have life, that we could have a drink of living water that will satisfy us forever.

It isn't easy. You can create boundaries, rules, a 10 step plan... but ultimately, it has to come from God. In Exodus, God explains that He is going to harden Pharaoh's heart so that everyone will know that it is He who rescues the Hebrews from bondage. It wasn't Moses, and it wasn't Pharaoh being nice. God likes being the one who saves us. If our 10 step plan works to restore us, then it's ourselves and that plan that rescues us instead of God getting the glory for the rescue.

Restoration is a process as we struggle and try to hear what God is saying, but in the end, we can give God all the glory because He alone sets us free. I praise God that, actually, every year is the year of re--. But for me, this year in particular demands much needed restoration. In my life, in my family, on campus at Millersville. I crave it. God will never stop restoring what's been lost. That is the one thing I am sure of.

Reprise

Reprise

You believe that we were never friends,

And we were never dating.

So maybe I did imagine it all.

The scenes play over and over in my mind,

Like a bad movie that you wish you had never seen.

I only kept watching because I wanted to see the ending.

I wanted to resolve this mess and rectify your wrongs,

But justification never came.

I loved you, didn’t I?

I took your hits of blame and control,

Seeded with the weight of the hurt you carry,

Always thinking I was waiting for you to heal.

And since I loved you enough to stick around

And be understanding of where you have been,

I thought that things would get better.

But redemption never came.

We never got better. We could never heal

From the ways you threw my pearls before the swine

Time and time again.

And the damned thing is, I let you.

I handed them to you. It must be my fault.

People are supposed to learn from mistakes

And grow stronger and wiser in time.

I thought I was learning, I thought I was being refined.

But sanctification never came.

Maybe you were right,

We were never friends or dating

because after dating, I couldn’t just be your friend.

And after being hurt, I couldn’t truly be with you

Because there were too many walls.

I thought it was only your walls that hurt us,

But in the end, it was the walls I didn’t even know I had up

That made you and me an impossibility.

Donc le chagrin qui marque mon coeur,

Le chagrin que j’ai apporté pour si longtemps,

Il doit être tué.

And why? Because I can live without you.

And it’s time I started resting in that truth

So that my restoration can come.

What is this poem a reprise of? Find out here!
http://docs.google.com/Doc?docid=0ARIx5W2_AIMcZGdrNnY0OXdfMjJkOGdmaDNnOQ&hl=en

weakest link

There are many different angles through which one can investigate the history of a country. I had never thought about it before I took a class on Paris my senior year. In high school, we just studied the presidents, the battles, the important inventions. That's what history meant to me. But I actually always believed that an important part of a country or a culture's history is the art, the literature, the architecture. But another interesting way to study history is to look at the poor and the common people. Who were they? Which leads to questions like...Why were they poor? And what was the government doing to help them? In my Paris class, we took a break from talking about kings and generals to look at the common people. People flocked to Paris in hopes of jobs (as always is the case with moving to the city), and they couldn't find jobs. So they resorted to prostitution and that sort of thing.

It gets me thinking about that phrase "you're only as strong as your weakest link." What if that were true of a country? I mean you can experience a country's culture when you travel in a myriad of ways: the landmarks, the museums, the food, the everyday way of life. But what if you traveled around and did volunteer work at places like orphanages, soup kitchens, etc. instead of the usual sightseeing stuff? Your picture of that country would be quite different. I wonder what that kind of experience would be like in comparison to the norm. What if a country was only as strong as their weakest link? It's just interesting to think about.

Which reality counts more? The pride of a country's monuments, museums, and battlefields or the amount of people in their country who have no homes or can't provide meals for their family? I don't know. It makes me sad to think of someone visiting the US and looking at the people sleeping on the streets. Part of me would want to shelter the visitors from the poverty so that I could show them our capitol building and our battlefields where soldiers bravely fought for freedom because I am really proud of those things. Which portrayal is a more accurate reality?

Apparently, the countries in Scandanavia rank as the happiest in the world. Sweden, Finland, and the Netherlands are in the top ten. The number 1 happiest country, according to forbes.com, is Denmark. These countries tend to have high income tax (50% for a middle class worker in Denmark), but that means they have good health care, education systems (college is free in Denmark), and welfare benefits. Denmark has a 99% literacy rate, and supposedly, 95% of their population is Evangelical Lutheran. Well, I'm going off on a tangent because I'm finding Denmark to be so interesting, but my point is, it seems that the poor are definitely taken care of in Denmark. And the country is happier for it. (Although, I must note that the Danes are not known for being friendly, but remember, they descend from brutal vikings!)

All that to just offer a different perspective of viewing a country's history and culture: from the bottom. I think that we're all connected and that my freedom is tied to yours. That's why we're only as strong as our weakest link.

abide in me

How do I see God? That's what Betsy asked me. And frankly, I don't know. I could make up an answer so that Betsy doesn't know that my mind is absolutely blank right now, but instead, I just tell her that I don't know. But that's not really okay... so I went to bed that night, and as I was praying, I started to tell God how I saw him. And then I decided I wanted to write it down, so I got up and grabbed some paper. Since I like to reuse paper, I grab some papers with the blank side facing up, and I turned them over to see what they were, and all of them were Psalm 46. Be still and know that I am God. So I decide to write on the front of them instead of the back.

-How do I see God?

-My God created the universe from nothingness.

-My God always was, always is, and always will be.

-My God is sovereign, even the wind obeys Him.

-My God is mighty to save. He doesn't just reach out his hand; He grabs me and says, "I will not let you fall!"

-My God is in love with me. He is the best boyfriend--no others can compare.

-My God is not dependent on me. But he graciously offers me a role in his work in reconciling the world.

-Apart from my God, there is no life. He offers the living water to the whole world.

-My God chased after me into a pig sty and kissed my hand because He saw more in me than just a garbage collector. My God says, "you have worth in me."

-My God hung on a cross and forgave me as I stood mocking him.

-My God breaks things so that we can see His grace in the healing.

-My God asks me to trust His will for my life. Sometimes I don't know what that means. I want to follow Him, but what does He want me to do?

After reflecting on how I see God, I felt fully confident in who my God is. So I went downstairs to hang these things on the wall, and as I hung them, I felt God saying to me, "Abide in me." This gave me so much peace. It's like, whether I decided to keep on with the IV internship or if I decided to quit, it's okay either way. God can do something good out of either decision. God was giving me a choice here. And in whatever decision I make, if I abide in Him, I will be in His will. I didn't know yet whether I would or wouldn't continue with the internship, but I told Betsy about it the next day. We talked for a long time, but it was clear that God was asking me to follow through with my commitment. It wasn't about the fact that I had made the commitment, and I HAD to get through it. No, it was obedience that God was calling me to. I usually follow Him halfway and then think that's enough, but I decided that I wanted to follow through to do the entire year of the internship.

It was an awesome last few days as God changed my heart to make me joyfully desire to serve Him through this internship instead of just dragging through it because I "have to." I think things may continue to be a struggle sometimes, but after hearing from God, I am much more confident in knowing that He really is with me.

Urbana 09

     Well, so much for writing once a week. I actually have three posts that I started and never finished...if that counts for anything! So I just got home from Urbana, a world missions conference in St. Louis. It was a 17 hour bus ride, but it was worth it! AND I got to see the Mississippi River, which was one of my lifelong dreams! Isn't that awesome? As soon as we got to the hotel, I went to check out the river and the arch with some friends from LVC. The hotel I stayed at with my Millersville friends was right across the street from the arch. Our hotel room had a king size bed and a separate living room. It was like a suite! Alright now onto the good stuff.... the actual conference!

    So worshipping with like 17,000 people from around the world is just an indescribable thing. It's like experiencing what heaven will be like because you get a chance to see a greater picture of who God is when you are with people from all places, cultures, languages. I loved the speakers the best, though. I loved hearing about the places they have been. I was very touched by Ramez Atalluh speaking about the garbage village in Egypt where he and his wife ministered. When the pastor who first ministered there tried to talk to one of the people, they ran into a pig sty because they were afraid. They lived like animals. But that pastor just put his boots, lit a torch, and went into the pig sty after them. It was such a picture of how God came down here to us. We do hide in pig stys, afraid of the goodness that God offers. But he comes in after us to love on us. The other speakers that really impacted me the most were a man from Rwanda and a man from Korea. The man from Rwanda spoke about the two tribes there and how his father had been killed by the other tribe when he was 5 years old. He talked about reconciliation and forgiveness and how God told him that he had no right to hold onto his hatred. So now he ministers to this other tribe, I think they are called the Tutsi. Anyway they were the ones who caused the genocide in the country. I can't imagine forgiving someone who killed my father and terrorized my country. That's what made me realize that if that man can forgive a group of people who have hurt his family and negatively impacted his life so much, and not only forgive but love and minister to, I can forgive the people in my life that I don't want to forgive. The man from Korea spoke about the Japanese imperalism that took over Korea and their culture. He is now a missionary in Japan. Seeing Jesus up on the cross saying, "Forgive them for they know not what they do" is a powerful image that just shows you that forgiveness is not optional.
 
  The story about the garbage village was particularly inspiring to me because Ramez Atallah and his wife are taking part in something amazing in Egypt where God is moving in huge ways. The church that was built in that garbage village is the largest in the middle east apparently! I looked it up online when I got home, and one sentence from an article I read really struck me: "They still collect garbage; however, they now have three schools, a hospital and many churches" (http://www.lausanneworldpulse.com/urban.php/903?pg=all) The people there still collect garbage, but they are now followers of Jesus, and this makes all the difference in their village.

     I went into the conference with an expectation that I'd figure out what I'm going to do after my internships are over this year, but I didn't really figure that out. I do have a few things in mind, but the cool thing is that I don't have to sign up for a program next year. I can stick around here and just get a job, and if I have to move back home, that would be okay. It's all okay. And I'm just excited about whatever adventure God has planned for me. The world is a big place, and I intend to explore every inch of it!

     If you are interested in hearing the speakers from Urbana 09, you can catch them all on the website: http://www.urbana09.org/program.webcast.cfm.