A Faith I've Never Known.

The following is a brief account of a 2-hour conversation I had this week with an older man who had been involved in missions for - as I understood it - about roughly 30 to 40 years. I would rank this conversation as one of the most influential conversations I have ever had... although honestly, I did a lot more listening than talking. In the interest of not distracting from what I hope to share, I won't mention his full name, but simply refer to him by his first name, Chris.

Background

     For time's sake, I won't relate the entirety of Chris' testimony, but there is a bit of important background information. Chris began his missions ministry in Kyrgyzstan, a predominantly Muslim country, bordering the northeast area of China. He went with a "faith-based" missions organization, which means all he had was a sending church and a call... no raising support, no meeting a "financial quota" before leaving... just a faith that God would provide. While in Kyrgyzstan, Chris noticed the unreached drug addict population, and in response he developed a drug and alcohol rehabilitation center, which not only helped the locals out of their addiction, but reached them with the Gospel through weekly Bible studies. Over time the ministry flourished, and he gradually turned over leadership to the locals. He saw an incredible amount of people come to the Lord, and a society transformed.

Faith I've Never Known

     As I listened to Chris talk, I realized this man had seen God work not just once, but countless times in ways we would describe as "miraculous." While at first I was simply amazed at his stories, I finally began to make a connection that I had been searching for my whole life. Maybe you've heard stories of miracles and incredible acts of God, and wondered why you never experience anything like that... I certainly have! However I finally realized Chris had a level of faith that I had never even considered having.

      When asked, (Being in a dangerous Muslim country) "How do you balance common sense and faith when sharing the Gospel?" He answered, "When you're in the center of God's will and relying solely on Him, He will preserve you as long as He wants you to keep working." He went on to share - not out of pride but out of a testimony to Christ's faithfulness - that he had been mugged 5 times, nearly stoned by a young mob of Muslims (until prayers around the world miraculously stopped them), held at gunpoint 3 times, kidnapped, whipped, and beat, but he was still alive, carrying out God's work because He was still needed for the kingdom. He made the comment, "I haven't been shipwrecked yet, so I'm really looking forward to that one!" Here I saw a man in front of me who stood for what I had been searching for... a faith that the apostles and early Christians had, a faith that allowed them to face certain death and yet miraculously live to continue the work until death finally took them. They suffered for the gospel and lived, because it was all they were living for.

     I've grown up hearing that God doesn't work in miracles anymore, but just through ordinary areas of life. Maybe you're like me and wondered why God did crazy things in the early church, but seems to stay silent today... When did He suddenly decide to become inconspicuous? Call me crazy, but I don't think God has hidden Himself at all! Without making any foolish "absolute" claims, I'm beginning to think that God only works through ordinary circumstances because we don't trust Him in the extraordinary! Too often I find myself viewing faith as "I believe God can ______." But if I'm focused on getting my plans for the next x-amount of years squared away, spending the majority of my thoughts on how to keep myself secure and safe, and wanting my life on earth to be comfortable, how can I expect God to respond to my "faith" in a miraculous way? Maybe I only see God work in the ordinary things because that's how I live... avoiding risk under the banner of "common sense." I'm not saying I don't have faith because I don't proclaim the Gospel in the streets of Afghanistan.. but if God asked me to, could I?

So much more I want to say... but for now, I hope you'll not simply "consider" true faith, but actively pursue it, as God is teaching me to do. And please add your input in this discussion!
Grace and Peace,

Brian