What We Love….




Phil* 3:7-8
“But whatever were gains to me, I now consider loss for the sake of Chri$t. What is more, I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Chri$t Je$us my L0rd, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them garbage, that I may gain Chri$t.”

I have been thinking a lot about how we give up things for that which we love. We sacrifice and make a way, not because it doesn’t pain us at times, but because we believe the sacrifice is worth the loss for the gain to come. 

The family I live with now has a “cousin-brother” (as they call them here) living with us. He is an extended family member from the village who couldn’t afford to go to school most of his life. When we was afforded the opportunity to come to a bigger city and have the chance to go to school and earn an education, he left his family to come live with his “uncle” and pursue a better life.  Many Indi@ns here leave their family and travel to bigger cities or even other countries, leaving all behind in pursuit of money or education and a better life for those in their own family.  Usually it’s not for the sole purpose of a personal gain, but for the betterment of the entire family.

My new “cousin-brother” is about 17 years old and probably in 9th grade, maybe even a lower grade. He faces ridicule of speaking a different dialect, clearing coming from a lower income family and caste, and being grades behind his age range. He lives with our family, barely ever seeing his biological family in hopes he will some day be able to get a decent paying job and send money to the other family members in the village.  As I look at his hard work and long hours spent each day walking to and from school and studying, I can’t help but think of all he gives up. 

His life has pointed me towards the passage of scripture above. I have been meditating on it and thinking about G0d’s sacrifice too. He sacrificed His son and felt the loss knowing the gain that would come.  I have been thinking about the things that we are willing to give up for that which we love. So often as I travel through America people commend me on my sacrifice and willingness to come to Indi@. In some senses, yes there is sacrifice to my culture and leaving family behind, but in reality, there is such gain, such gain. It makes it worth it all. My loss is nothing in comparison to all I am learning, all G0d is doing in me, and for the sake of the Kingdom of G0d. Being here isn’t a loss for me… it’s a gain.  I truly believe when we are walking out what the L0rd calls us to, we can’t help but be filled up, satisfied, and see the gains that come in sacrifice.  Je$us is worth it all.


My cousin-brother’s name is Bharat, which means “Indi@”.  Perhaps you can pr*y for him and his family as you think of Indi@.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Bhindi or “Tikka” Mark on the Head- What is it?

Image
(Pooja tikka mark) Many westerners have asked me what the Bhindi or red “tikka” mark means or why I am willing to wear it as a Chri$tian. Many people associate this mark with H!nduism. In my contextualization classes we were taught about finding the difference between culture and religion. The scripture is clear that we don’t want to do anything to compromise our Chri$tian faith and values. At the same time the go$pel is full of the liberties that Chri$t brought to us through the cross. We are no longer obligated to religious practices and rituals. Chri$t fulfilled the law. As we work with non-believers we don’t want to make Chri$tianity another religion. We don’t want to make following Chri$t more difficult than it has to be. Following Je$us doesn’t have to mean abandoning culture, it just has to mean abandoning any other faith or practices of that faith. As teachers, we have to help our disciples find this difference as they come to follow the Father more and more. We don
Read more

But God...

Every Knee Will Bow And Every Tongue Will Confess Truly everywhere we look is need- physical, emotional, financial, and spiritual. I see the man with elephantitis lift his giant leg to shift his position as he sits on a mat begging for money on the side of the road. I see a woman sitting on a patch of grass on the edge of a busy highway practicing her meditation attempting to find her inner peace. I see a young girl on her way to school stop to touch the street cow and then touch her own forehead in hopes that her Hindu practices will reap the blessing from her god (cow). Simultaneously, I see a shop keeper allow the giant cow to mosey along his street front restaurant; he even offers the cow freshly made roti (bread) as to not offend his “god” passing by. I see another person practicing yoga with all the pristine positions and poses. Her breaths are well practiced, yet her face is stricken with the look of anxiety and distress.  I see a young man who was
Read more

The ugliness I sometimes see

Image
We returned home today, August 18th, to the vastly different country that I now call "home". The things I so easily become immune to while living here rage their ugly heads whenever I return. It’s a mini culture shock and re-initiation if you will. I watched from my hotel window as a woman outside bathed her child in brown water. They live in an uncompleted brick shack with holes and a plastic sheet roof that monsoon has mostly destroyed already. Besides the beauty in the color of the scraps of clothes they are wearing there is nothing beautiful to the sight. No running water, no comforts to enjoy- simply day to day survival. My heart broke as I watched her. I looked down to my own sleeping baby tucked away in a nice crib with clean sheets and clean clothes. Sin is a horrible thing! It’s mared the world God created and his original beauty designed. It’s brought sickness, poverty, and brokenness. My heart aches for this woman, and at the same time rejoices in the
Read more