What is your life measured by? What do you equate success to?
No seriously think about it.
How do you measure wealth? True wealth? Is it by money? Happiness? The amount of lives you’ve seen changed? The degree to which you abide in God’s presence? How many children you have? The success of your children? How financially secure your future seems to be?
I’ve realized I’ve seen myself as poor through these years in missions. I certainly started this journey with the stereotype that to be in missions means to be poor. In my childhood home it was said ‘whatever you do, don’t marry a pastor or a missionary because you’ll be poor’. So as I embarked on this journey to simply follow Jesus more closely (which led toward ‘missions’), I also took on this perception of myself as poor and needy.
I just realized something a few minutes ago. It’s been brewing for a while now. I’m rich. I’m freakin rich. I experience true wealth all the time! Deeply knowing I’m loved by our Father God all the time no matter what I do is my greatest inheritance. The degree to which I see my dreams coming true and experience fantastic adventures all the time gives a real sense of happiness wealth. I’ve seen many countries, grown deep relationships, loved fiercely, and annually chosen to take a life direction of ‘living by faith’. It could also be called ‘living by ridiculous trust in God for every single thing’. My sense of self-worth does not change when I am stopping to play with a kid who lives on the street or having dinner with millionaires. My worth is no longer tied in my external stuff – what I wear or drive or where I live.
For some time now I’ve hidden these truths I’m discovering under the blanket of ‘missionaries are poor’. Because I’ve worried that other Christians would be jealous, I haven’t displayed the fullness of what God’s been up to in my life. It’s like I’ve found a huge ravine of diamonds that is on the land I inherited and I’m afraid that others will react with envy and condemnation for finding it.
Well – OH WELL! It’s time to throw off the false shroud of poverty! I’m freakin rich! I’ve come to know true wealth and it’s blowing my mind! Even though they always said in church that Jesus is your ‘all in all’, I LIVE it and KNOW it! I have years of experience and many many stories to prove it’s true. But I had to get out there – away from the safe, predictable harbor (in my case, suburban America) and test it out. Is Jesus REALLY everything He claimed to be? Is God GOOD like we chant in youth group, really? I’ve discovered that I’m not content to just believe what others say because I think they know more about something. I’ve gotta experience it. KNOW it in the core of my being. And now I KNOW that Jesus is the WAY, the TRUTH and my LIFE.
