substitute

My friend was recently confirmed as a match for a bone marrow transplant. One of his co-workers struggled with the operation because my friend was not allowed to know what kind of person would be receiving the transplant. The uncertain co-worker said, “I would have a tough time sacrificing anything for an undeserving person.” This scenario exemplifies the radical and countercultural nature of the gospel. Jesus died a criminal’s death, but that wasn’t the worst of it. He bore the wrath of God and endured the depths of the relational separation that comes with sin, yet Jesus knew no sin. He experienced death and separation in our stead, though we did not deserve it. My friend’s blood saved this person and he will never know what her character was like. Jesus’ death on the Cross saved was the only thing that could save our lives from eternal separation from God. The truth of the gospel is that we were worse off than we ever thought, but now because of Jesus we are more accepted than we ever hoped to be. This was a great reminder to me that the message of the gospel is foolishness to our culture, yet the power of God for those are saved.

New Book

I read this interview with Tim Keller on Justin Taylor's blog (called Between Two Worlds) about his book coming out in early February. I am pretty excited about this book called Reason for God and have already pre-ordered it. Check out his interview at this post.

The Call

While in East Asia I finished a great book that I have wanted to read for a while now. It is called The Call by Os Guinness. I recommend this as a thorough resource for those called to vocational ministry, business, politics, the arts, etc. I appreciate how he says that the call is first to Someone - God. The secondary call of what we do with our life then overflows from the primary call to be God's. I felt that Guinness’ simple yet profound call to dying to self, stewardship, humility, community and worship are a breath of fresh air with the slew of self-help and purpose books out there.

His thesis is simply that “calling is the truth that God calls us to himself so decisively that everything we are, everything we do, and everything we have is invested with a special devotion and dynamism lived out as a response to his summons and service.” This book gives good perspective for anyone who wants to see our whole life in light of the call of God.

Back from East Asia

We are back from East Asia and had an absolutely awesome time. I have so many stories and thoughts. I am a little out of it from the jet lag, but here are a few to start with. The average student had barely even heard of Jesus. That shocked me but it gave us some freedom to share the gospel without any preconceived notions. The education system has, in my opinion, not really given most of the students the freedom to think. They all answer spiritual questions the exact same. But surprisingly to me, it was very easy to talk about Jesus and share my beliefs.

On the other hand, the Christian students were a joy. Their faces lit up when you mention the name of Jesus. I had the opportunity to teach (with a translator of course) and it was such a blessing to hear how passionate they are for both their relationship with God and also about reaching their country for Jesus. In a small group that I attended, almost every student asked for prayer to see their family or their friends come to know Jesus. Their stories and their passion was such an encouragement to my faith.