You're probably all wondering what "lectures" means. I mean, sure, someone is obviously lecturing...but about what? I could rattle off a list of themes, I suppose, as every week is intended to have one primary theme. But the reality is that we are wrestling with God's Truth--not just theologically, but wrestling with the power of it. What if God is calling us to great and awesome things? What was God's original design for the world and, if that was different, what does that make God's salvation plan? Why are we so set on leaning toward Jesus either being God or Man, but wrestle with Him being fully both? All these things wrap up into our identity, both as Christians and as a group. As I'm writing this to you right now, many of you might see this as lofty deliberation. You don't realize you have questions and internal conflicts, until someone asks you if you believe we can raise people from the dead...and then you're taken aback and suddenly have to really think about whether this is a faith issue and where the power to do so would come from (and why). Theoretical principles to you, maybe...but here we are face to face with being on a mission field that may look and function very differently from what we have grown up believing from sight. Tonight we may get a glimpse of what that mission field may look like.
Having said this, I feel it is important to tell you that while I came here in search of a calling (which has definitely been confirmed in my heart), I also (unknowingly) came here to be transformed in a very different manner than I expected. Since God took 14 years to send me here, I figured that was all preparation time--mostly for me, but maybe some of that was also God preparing the place for me to step into and raising up the people to join with. But I am quickly learning that God isn't done turning me upside down and inside out, flipping me around on the inside. He didn't pause to send me here; in many ways, He may have sent me here both to grow my faith (the fulfillment of a 14-year promise) and because it is here that He can grow me in ways that He set aside for the perfect time, which is now.
This is a lame statement, but I cannot think how to rephrase it: I'm glad you're enjoying your DTS. :)
ReplyDeleteLol! I'll be the first to admit that it's not always easy to accept the work God wants to do in my heart. But even then, it's still good, and HE'S still good. And ironically enough, that was what this particular lecture week was all about. :)
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