What if?

One of my favorite parts of the stage of life my children are in currently is watching them play make believe. On any given day, they are transported through time and space to become kings and queens of their own empires, they turn our home into a zoo with every child taking on a different animal identity, or they simply recreate the age old game of "house." Pretty much every day, I have to remember to call Ethan by the name "Nick." It's his go-to alter ego, and if I slip up and call him by his given name, he's quick to retort, "You mean, Nick?" :) I love "Nick." I hope he continues to visit our home for quite some time. :)

When I watch my kiddos, I recall countless memories of my own childhood when I did the very same thing. When life was filled with creativity, imagination, innocent fun, and play. When the concerns of the real world just didn't matter and for all practical purposes, didn't exist. When our biggest concern was who got to sit by whom at dinner or whether or not we were going to get dessert that day. Sometimes I miss those days.

But then sometimes, I wonder if I'm still living in them, in a world of make believe. I mean, it's not quite the same - I certainly have tasted some real world struggles here and there. I've watched the news and I've heard the stories. I've felt pain. I've experienced loss. However, my life is rich. My life is blessed. I live in luxuries that millions of people throughout the world only dream of experiencing. We have financial stability, a savings account, and a pretty cool mini-van, if I do say so myself. :) We hit up church each Sunday. We know lots of Bible verses, know all the stories, and have some great rhetoric.

But still, deep down, I feel like sometimes I'm just stuck "playing house." Like I'm living like the real world struggles, the real world needs just don't matter. I mean, of course they matter. But for all practical purposes, it changes very little about how I live.

You see, over the past year or two, God has started us down a path that's changing the face of our faith. And really, it started with one basic question. And from that question has come a barrage of others that are turning our world upside down.

What if? 

What if this is real? What if Christianity is more than going to church on Sunday, raising sweet and obedient children, reading the Bible and praying, tithing 10%, or trying to eliminate sin in our lives? What if it's more than a preferred worship style, some great programs, or a beautiful building to gather in? What if it's more than knowing theology inside and out? What if life is about more than building security, beefing up the 401k, investing, setting up the kids college funds, or establishing a lucrative career? What if we've got it all wrong? What if we're living in a world of make believe Christianity?

What if?

What if we took Scripture at face value? What if we took risks? What if we gave away more than we spent on ourselves? What if we fought for justice for the oppressed, for those who have no voice? What if the plight of the orphan moved us to action, not just to pity? What if the idea of people spending an eternity in Hell broke our hearts and compelled us to do something? What if we cared more about the Gospel than our safety? What if we threw our long term plans out the window and let God write our story? What if the poverty and corruption and persecution endured by millions throughout the world moved us to the core and drove us to action? What if we stopped investing millions of dollars into elaborate church buildings and instead provided for millions of people living in utter destitution in places all over the globe? What if we stopped making the church about a place and more about a people radically devoted to following Jesus Christ? What if we invested the fabric of our lives into the message we say we believe? What if we followed the example of our Savior who forsook Heaven and gave ALL for the sake of the Gospel? What if we read Scripture and lived like it were really true?

"Whoever wishes to save His life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake, he is the one who will save it." (Luke 9)

If anyone has material possessions and sees a brother or sister in need but has no pity on them, how can the love of God be in that person? Dear children, let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth. (1 John 3)

Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress. (James 1)

Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth...lay up for yourselves treasures in Heaven... Do not be anxious about tomorrow...(Matthew 6)

Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a town and spend a year there and trade and make a profit”— yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes. Instead you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that.” (James 4)

“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you...(Matt 7)

I am haunted by these words. For I would tell you in a heartbeat that I believe them to be true, yet in reality, my daily life shows little evidence of my belief. Most of my decisions are made based on what is comfortable for me, what is logical, what fits the schedule, what other people say is most practical, and most importantly, what is safe. According to Jesus, it's possible to have all the rhetoric right, and even do some good stuff in His Name, but still miss the point entirely. That thought terrifies me.

I recently read a quote from an atheist stating that her Christian friends are mostly just like her except they are really busy on Sundays. I also recently read a quote from a pastor living in a country in which followers of Christ are greatly persecuted who stated that they pray daily for the plight of the American church.

I can think of no greater tragedy than this: that those of us who claim a relationship with the Almighty, Supreme God of the Universe often live no differently than those who don't. We keep God in a human-sized box. We center our lives around our own provision, our own comfort, our own logical plans. We fill our lives with the same possessions, entertainment, and activities as those who don't know Him. We are all about going to church, but not so much about being the Church. We squeeze God into the extra spaces, when there's time. We make decisions based on what is logical, what is comfortable, what is financially feasible and what is safe. We call this wisdom. We call this stewardship. 

But God, in His loving, gentle, persistent way, calls us to more. To a life of unconventional, radical surrender. To a life that makes no sense to an unbelieving world, but perfect sense in light of Scripture. To a life of action. To a life of servanthood. To a life of willingness. To a life that can only be explained by the power of the Holy Spirit. To a life consumed by the Gospel. To a life lived with eternity always in view. To a life of joy. To a life of freedom. To a life of struggle, sacrifice, and pain. To a life of complete risk, but eternal safety. To a life utterly devoted to His Name and His Glory.

It's time to stop playing make believe. To stop investing our lives into things that won't follow us into eternity. To live like it's real. To live like it matters.

Because in the end, it is ALL that matters.

What if?

Some Days

So, I hate mention it, but some days we really have it together around here. You know, those days where the kids sleep in long enough for me to have some time to exercise, read, sip a cup of coffee, AND take a peaceful shower before they open their sweet little eyes. Where the kids wake up vibrantly refreshed and cheerful, have a jolly old time playing together, using their imaginations, and giggling their way through the day. Those days where none of them have a nose running like a faucet, they all choose kleenex over nose picking, and they all make it to the toilet AND remember to flush. Those days where they play nicely with their things and somehow remember to pick them up, too. Those days where we use words like "Sweetie" over "Meanie!" and phrases like, "I love you" over "I'm not going to be your friend anymore!!" You know. Those days.

Of course to be fair I have to include those other days. You know, those days when you wake up to a kid sitting on your head loudly telling you they want breakfast, where you can barely pry your eyes open to crawl out of bed, let alone keep up with their already explosive energy. Those days where they wake up fighting, where they pick and poke and peck at each other so consistently that tears and tantrums break out every 5 minutes. Where after an hour or so of that, you officially hit the limit and completely lose it correct them and snap something to the effect of, "STOP FIGHTING AND SHOW SOME SELF CONTROL!!" (ahem.) Where you're so glad that you can start the day afresh after a good night of sleep and decide begin the bedtime process, only to realize it's only 11AM. ;) You know. Those days.

And of course while I say all of this with perhaps some slight exaggeration, I hope I'm not alone in this: some days raising littles are just plain beautiful, and others feel a bit more like survival. And for a fam of 6 that has just moved internationally and are now adjusting to a new time zone, a new culture, a new way of life, not to mention living out of suitcases for a few months and currently residing in a tiny two bedroom apartment with no way of transport save our own two feet, not to mention the emotional stress of all of the goodbyes we've had this past month... Well, let's just be real, here. We all have had our roller coaster moments, and we definitely have not found our new normal quite yet.

And so this last week when the Lord kept repeatedly placing a certain Scripture into my mind and before my eyes, I have tried to latch on and treasure it's Truth: Hebrews 13:8 - Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.

The same. The same. The SAME.

We never have to wonder about our Jesus. We don't have to try to guess His mood, relieve His stress, help Him cope. We don't have to doubt His character, question His power,  or wonder if He's going to have the patience and strength to deal with us today. In the midst of our unpredictable, ever changing lives, He's the constant. Every other thing in our world will at some point change in some way, but not Jesus. He's the anchor. He's ever near. He's the steadfast, holy, good, loving, caring, burden bearer that never leaves us, that walks with us through every change and through it all remains. The same.

And as I reflect on that Truth about my Savior, I find myself asking Him to build into my life that kind of consistency. The kind where my moods and my speech and my actions are not determined by how I feel or by my circumstances, but by what is true. Where regardless of my situation, I love like He does, care like He cares, give like He gives. Where I trust when it's hard and when I can't explain why, when I walk in Truth both when I'm comfortable and when I'm not. I pray that God gives me the grace to be consistent, because He is.

It all comes full circle, you know. Because when my life looks like His, I can say to those beautiful little people that He has placed in my care, "Imitate me, as I also imitate Christ." (1Cor11:1)

So while I know that I will fail, I make it my aim to be like Him. And the next time we have one of "those days," may it point us all to the one who remains the same. Not just some days...but ALWAYS.

Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.