Go

Let me share a part of a book with you that I recently read in a book called "Radical" written by David Platt.

               "I remember when I was first preparing to go to Sudan, a nation impoverished by years of civil war. The trip was going to cost me around three thousand dollars. It wasn't easy to travel into Sedan since they were still at war, and we would have to charter a plane and spend a few extra days to make that happen. I remember one dear lady in the church coming up to me and asking, 'Why don't you just send the three thousand dollars to the people in Sudan? Wouldn't that be a better use of money than you spending a week and a half with them? Think of how far that money will go.'

                I wrestled with that question. Was I wasting these funds in order to go when I could simply give the money instead? Should I even be going? I continued wrestling with that question until I got to Sudan. There I had a conversation with Andrew that shed some light on the question.

                 Andrew was sharing with me about his life in Sudan over the last twenty years. He had known war since he was born, and he described facets of the suffering and persecution his people had been through.  He described various groups, most of them government or secular organizations, who had brought supplies to them during that time, and he expressed thanks for the generosity of so many people.

                 But then he looked at me and asked, 'Even in light of all these things that people have given to us, do you want to know how you can tell who a true brother is?'

                I leaned forward and asked, 'How?'

                He responded, 'A true brother comes to be with you in your time of need.' Then he looked me in the eye and said, 'David, you are a true brother. Thank you for coming to be with us.'"

                This story hit all the right notes for me. Human beings were not created to sit, make money, and give tax deductible donations to specific causes. It's a great notion, but not for me. I am obsessed with the real, the raw, the dangerous. I am a firm believer that the deepest need in human beings isn't tangible but spiritual. Above all I want to understand. To share others grief. To learn true struggle. To find true joy. My life has to mean something when I die. When I'm in heaven a jacket I gave won't mean as much as a life I touched. To "go and make disciples of all nations" is a command, not an option to be debated upon. When I go and serve, it changes my heart, my priorities, and accesses my soul. That is something that's laid up as treasure in heaven. 

                 Commit a goal to support an international injustice. Whether that means to go, to donate, to encourage, or to raise awareness, it's something God meant for you to do. If done with a glad heart, it will be rewarded. I promise. God promises.