Weeping for the Lost

This past weekend at LST, we spent some reflective time in our team thinking about the lost. It wasn't a manipulation to try and get us to weep, but it was encouragement for us to find ways to weep for the lost. The more we shared and thought about this, the more I thought about the campus here, not Argentina (as important as that is!). We talked about how hard it is to weep because we don't want to think about our friends and classmates and roommates dying without Christ. We are also so busy with many distractions that these prevent us from thinking about eternal things. I assure you that the greatest problem in college students' lives is not financial aid or GPA or who they are taking out on a date Friday night. Our greatest problem is sin.

This is part of the reason I have included prayer for missions on Tuesday night. We must learn to weep for the lost again if we are to care enough to reach out to them and offer Jesus.

Today, my grandma cried

I called my grandmother today. I had intentionally not sent her a Let's Start Talking fundraising letter because I knew funds were tight and I didn't want her to have to give. Well, last week she sent me a really nice note and check for a lot to go towards the mission trip. I was overcome by her generosity and sacrifice. Lord, please bless her and reward her for her gift! But today, I finally got to call her and visit with her and thank her and all that good stuff.

At one point, she started talking about how she can't keep up with everybody's health because everyone has something wrong with them. She is 79. She then asked me to remember one of her elders in the church there who was fighting cancer. As she finished telling me this, she broke into tears as she said something like, "I believe God allowed pain in the world so that we would remember that this world is not our home." Now I'm not sure when the last time was you heard a family member cry, but when you hear your own grandmother cry over the phone, it leaves a deep impression on your heart. She is very aware of the nearness and certainty of death and it is so sad to see so many around you hurting and dying.

I'm not sure what it's going to take, but for all my friends and family who read this, WE MUST KEEP A DEATH PERSPECTIVE. Tracey and I listened to Tuesdays with Morrie and it talks a lot about death. We college folks tend to be insulated from it, but it still happens all around us and many have died from campus. Don't let Satan so distract you with temporary things that you lose sight of the eternal things. Reflection on death keeps us focused in life on what is most important, what is lasting, where we should invest the most time, money, and energy. And we follow a savior who says "follow me to a cross." Death is all around us. Let me help you. I need your help too. I love you all.

You can quote me

WELCOME BACK STUDENTS! It is good to be blogging again. My apologies to James for not blogging over the break. I really wanted to but just did not want to enter the blog world. And, for better or for worse, my counter number is distorted because you've all been checking to see if I was writing yet again or not. But I finally went over the 1000 mark which is both humbling (that you would come check out my blog) and a tempting source of pride! :)

Here is the quote I thought of last week while driving to the Student Center returning from Wal-Mart.

"Jesus never turned anyone away, but he did occasionally hide from the crowds."

For me this captures a very difficult tension for anyone who is trying to live like Jesus. When he was around people, he gave them 100% of his attention. He was fully present and available to the crowds every time he was among them. But Jesus would also sneak into lonely places for prayer and quiet time from time-to-time and the crowds would comment how they had been looking for him. Jesus knew he could not be available all of the time or the crowds would drain him spiritually. I know it was the quiet time with the Father that helped him defend himself to Pharisees, teach his slow-thinking disciples and heal every person that came near him.
Do you understand the tension? Which side of the tension do you like more? Being around people constantly can produce burnout because you never rest, God isn't able to search your heart, and thus, you no longer grow. Never doing ministry for others means you have missed the meaning of the gospel--it's good news! You're supposed to share it! Be careful of each extreme and live in the tension.
Love you all!