a girl with a red cape.

Do you remember being a kid and wanting to be a superhero?  You could contemplate for hours which superhero you would be, what powers you would have, how you would use them, and most importantly, what you would wear.  You wanted to do something with your life that mattered-- something that helped, saved, earned respect.   The world would be better because you had come on the scene just in time.  Somewhere along the way though, we became content with just getting through life.  We’ve lost our passion to do something heroic.

I got an email this week from a 15 year old girl who reminded me of the passion youth has to do something valiant.  She had heard of Back2Back’s Child Sponsorship Program and she wanted to help.  She knew it was a big financial commitment for a girl whose only income is from the occasional babysitting gig.  So she did something heroic and rallied three of her friends together to sponsor a child collectively.  

“We are super excited!!! We all understand this is a big comentment and we are completly ready for what ever we need to do!!!” 

I explained the process and how we usually need payment by check or credit card.  Like any hero, she wasn’t going to let that get in her way.  So she decided she would open a checking account to make payments from.  She would have her parents help her open it if she had to.  There was an orphan who needed her, and she wasn’t going to let anything get in the way of coming to her rescue. 

We all start off wanting to do something heroic.  It isn’t until we come up against a hurdle that we start to lose our vigor.  Life get’s hard, and mountains seem tall.  Doing something that matters is always going to seem like a good idea at first, but if it ends there, that’s all it’s ever going to be.  A good idea.

I think God made us with the desire to do something heroic because we actually are supposed to do something heroic.  God calls us to care for the poor, spread the good news, reach the lost.  And there’s an Enemy that doesn’t want you to do it.  We were made for a purpose, and until we start living for that purpose we won’t be satisfied.

I encourage you—Throw your hat in the ring.  Get your hands dirty.  Climb a mountain or two.  Start being the hero you were made to be.

“Let us not lose heart in doing good, for in due time we will reap if we do not grow weary.” Galatians 6:9

well aware of it.

Do you ever feel like you are maybe a little crazy?   

The last few months I have been feeling like the world around me thinks I have lost a couple of my marbles.  The only strange thing is, I know it.

Take heart.  I think any Christian who is living out their faith is going to feel (and look) a little crazy.  And maybe the amount of crazy you feel should be an indicator for how good of a job you are doing at it. 

When I read the Bible, God tells me to “do nothing out of selfish ambition” (Phil. 2:3) when all around me the world tells me “look out for number one”.  Jesus tells me to “go make disciples of all men” (Matt. 28:19) while the world says “don’t talk about religion because you may offend someone”.  God tells me to "love your enemies" (Matt. 5:44), the world tells me to "love those who deserve to be loved".  Jesus tells me to “sell all you have and give it to the poor” (Luke 12:33), the world tells me to "get a 401K and save as much as you can". 

Which leaves me with a choice.  If I do what the Bible tells me, the world is going to think I am crazy.   But if I don’t, I am going against what my Maker has clearly told me to do.  Never once did He say "get comfortable, stay quiet, maintain status quo".  Trust me, I looked.

Personally, I want people to like me, and I would prefer if no one thought I was crazy.  But if it comes to what I want more—to be obedient to God or be well liked, being well liked will have to take a back seat.  So I guess that makes me a little crazy by this world’s standards, but points to the fact that I wasn’t made for this world. 

It makes me feel better to learn that Jesus knew this would happen.  He foreshadowed to believers “the world will hate you because of me” (Luke 21:17), and warned that “you cannot love the world and love me” (1 John 2:15).   He knew that what He was asking us to do would make us outsiders.

Leaving my job and working for a ministry that cares for orphans feels closer to what God wants me to do.  James said “true religion is this, to look after orphans and widows” (James 1:27).  I don’t really care to have a religion that gets me to church on Sunday morning but changes nothing about who I am or how I live.  I’m pretty sure that’s not what God had in mind, and I’m even more convinced that He’s not impressed by it.  I don’t know about you, but my only goal is to hear “well done” when this is all over.  If that makes me crazy, then crazy it is.  

a reason to hurry.

I got a phone call from a woman last week that caught my attention.  She had recently come home from spending a week in Monterrey with Back2Back and was interested in sponsoring one of the children she had connected with.  Nothing too unusual about that.  (If you met these kids, you'd probably call me too).  What made the phone call unusual was that she wanted to come into the office to drop off the money right away.  Usually people will wait for me to mail them a Welcome Packet and send their first payment back through the mail.  This woman couldn't wait that long.  That afternoon she came in with gift wrapped presents and a check book.  She apologized for keeping me waiting (as if I should have expected her to come straight after we hung up the phone).  As I sat down with her and started getting her all set up for sponsorship, she began to tell me her story.  Her and her husband went down to Monterrey because her son, who worked at a church, invited them.  They had attended the church off and on, but the gospel was never real to them.  In Monterrey, they met a teenage girl who had been abandoned by her family, yet put her faith in a God who loved her enough to send His son to die for her.  That kind of faith, in spite of circumstances, opened her eyes to the reality of Jesus as Savior.  Her and her husband came home and were baptized the following Sunday.  She had written this orphan girl a letter, telling her the impact her faith had on her and her husband's life.  She couldn't wait to get it to our office and begin sponsoring her.  I was just blessed enough to be the one to pass that letter along.
One of my favorite things about God is how His plans are so much better than ours.  This woman thought she was doing God a favor and going on a trip to Monterrey to change the life of an orphan.  God smiled at her good intention, and decided to do her one better.  He sent the orphan to her to change her life.