For more than 30 years of my life I never understood the meaning of Easter. I remember wearing my nicest clothes to church and hearing about the resurrection of Jesus and then eating loads of candy and hard-boiled eggs from a basket that was hidden in the house, but I never got it.
Easter to me, even into the early years of my marriage, was really just another day of the year that was somewhere around the start of baseball season and watching golf greats compete in The Masters. The candy and hard-boiled eggs of my childhood were just replaced as an adult by going out to eat a nice brunch ... while just who Jesus was and why he died was still not a factor in my life and a question I cared about finding the answer.
If someone had knocked on my door back in the late 1990s after we moved to Dallas and were in the first few years of our marriage and asked me, "God created you, but why should he allow you into heaven," I would have either politely closed the door and said, "No thank you whatever you are selling" or said "because I'm a pretty good person."
Either way, I would have closed the door. End of discussion.
The latter response, when we met people in Colombia during the past week, is what we often heard. Over and over and over and over again. But the door never closed. In four trips to Colombia over the past five years, I've never seen a single act of rudeness and very seldom does someone cut short a dialogue, unless lunch is being burned in their kitchen.
People who say "because I'm a pretty good person" are also next door to us in North Dallas, down the street, around the corner and all around us in the States.
This begs the question ... why did Lisa and I and 32 Americans fly all the way to Colombia to spend one week planting 14 churches and sharing the love of Jesus and the Gospel when our own backyard is so spiritually empty? Couldn't we just knock on doors in our area code and the money we paid and raised be donated to the poor in our city?
The final words of Jesus, before he ascended into heaven after his resurrection, were recorded in Matthew 28:18 and are the cornerstone of this blog: "Therefore go and make disciplines of all nations ...."
So we went. And Lord willing we will go again.
The reality that if we knocked on 10 doors in the United States, probably four would not answer and six would politely say, "No thank you whatever you are selling," in some manner, propels us to head outside our borders. We explain this story to Colombians time and again ... how defeated we would be if we conducted the same expedition in our own communities.
In the same way you are captivated meeting a stranger from around the world and hearing one's accent, Colombians make time in their day when a gringo appears in their doorway. Lisa's visits into homes during the past week in Cali were typically 45-60 minutes.
Our culture is one, sadly, that many of us prefer to text someone than have to call and talk to them. At the end of the day today, think of how many calls you made to tell loved ones saying "Happy Easter" and then total the number of texts, emails or posts you made to convey the same. Phone providers have made the switch in subscription plans from minutes (calls) + unlimited texting to unlimited calling + texting because of our cultural shift.
Think about that for a bit.
And what do we say when we walk to someone's door or sit down with someone in their home (in Colombia)?
Exactly how I started this blog is what I say, but everyone's testimony is unique. Our goal every moment we were out in Colombia was sharing the story of Jesus and plugging the community into the church we were planting, or finding a church where they feel comfortable. Whenever someone hesitated when I mentioned the word "church" I offered the analogy of becoming a better soccer player ... can you do it by yourself, or is it better achieved surrounding yourself with other soccer players who make you accountable and challenge and fuel your growth?
So are you Thomas? Are you one who upon hearing of the resurrection of Jesus and listening to so many in his community talk of seeing first-hand his close friend Jesus defeat death, say in John 21:25: "Unless I see the nail marks in his hands and put my finger where the nails were, and put my hand into his side, I will not believe."
(Ah, the doubting Thomas. I wondering for so many years where that phrase came from.)
One week later, Jesus and Thomas were reunited and Jesus said in John 21:27: "Peace be with you ... put your finger here; see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Stop doubting and believe."
Jesus added: "Because you have seen me, you have believed, blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed."
And if you believe -- if you understand the story why Jesus had to die, how he exchanged his sinless life for the sins of all of us on the cross, and that he rose from the dead to be made perfect again, you have a place in heaven. But you have to accept that (free) gift.
Now you're ready for that knock on your door, and now you can stop wondering if you're good enough to meet God's criteria for gaining entrance into heaven.
Yet maybe heaven isn't important to you?
I read an article in this week's Time magazine while flying back from Colombia yesterday. The article, "Rethinking Heaven" mentioned a survey that said 85 percent of Americans believe in heaven, but our younger generation is more focused on social causes than understanding our history and why Jesus is the cornerstone of everything. "Angels and harps are all well and good, such Christians believe, but fighting HIV/AIDS is more urgent" the article said.
It's interesting to note that our mission "escorts" on our expedition to Colombia is Dallas-based E3 Partners. They manage expeditions to 44 countries on 5 continents and depending on the destination, some of the trips have a medical focus, sports focus, some trips stress HIV/AIDS prevention where the communities are being torn by the deadly disease, some focus on cultural transformation and others even cater to the deaf.
Regardless of the trip, however, the cornerstone of the ministry of E3 Partners is Jesus. I pray that he's the center of your life, and if not my prayer is that you open your mind to His life and His story to help you make your decision.
How can you pray for Lisa and I? Even for Matt, who was gracious enough to transport us to/from DFW Airport and is headed to Colombia in the fall? That we are bold enough in our own backyards to share our faith, no matter how many doors may close on us or how many hearts may go cold on us. A life and future of someone in the States is as important and fragile as someone in Colombia.
Happy Easter. He Is Risen!
Blessings,
Dave
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