Why we are going - Part 3 (Read 1 and 2 first)

I am not sure if you are able to pick up on all of the parallels in the story. I would like to explain how I fit in the story. I am that “young man”. There really is a King who left the familiar for the unfamiliar. But this is no ordinary king. This is the King of kings. His name is Jesus. As a matter of fact anyone reading this story can play the role of the “young man”. The Bible says that “He (Jesus), having the very nature God, did not consider being equal with God as something He would have to attain, but made Himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made as a human. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and was obedient to death – even death on a cross. “Jesus is the King who left a perfect place to come to an imperfect place called earth. He did this out of compassion for you and me. He could not bear to see us have to live our lives with no hope. All of us are born, by our very nature, as sinners. All of us, at one point or another, have made mistakes and/or bad choices. The problem is that God is holy and can’t allow sin in His presence. But He loved you and me so much and wants to have a relationship with us that He made a provision for us to know Him by leaving Heaven and coming to earth as a man named Jesus. He lived a perfect life and never sinned. Jesus made the ultimate sacrifice for you and for me by willingly choosing to die. When He was on the cross God placed all of the sins that you and I would ever commit on Jesus and Jesus took all of the punishment for our sins that we should have to take. The only difference between the king in the story and Jesus is that Jesus was only dead for 3 days. On the third day He rose from the grave. In doing this He completely defeated the enemy (satan) forever. Now Jesus makes us the same offer as the king in the story made to the young man. Jesus says to you and me, “Will you take on my Royal Name?” He has made the provision for us to know Him and to have a relationship with God as our Father. The only problem is many people are trying to reach God or maybe please Him by being as good as they can hope that the good will outweigh the bad. The only problem with that solution is that if you or I have ever done anything wrong at anytime then we are guilty in God’s sight and there is nothing we can do on our own to please Him. The only way we can take on the “Royal Name” and truly know God as our Father is to accept what Jesus has already done for us. It simply means that you confess to God that you have sinned, tell Him that you want His forgiveness, and by faith, accept what He has done for you. You make Him the boss of your life and allow Him to have control. As your Father, He has a wonderful plan for your life whether you are 10 or 60 years old. When I came to the understanding of this in my own life, I have never been the same since and I have never had a single regret of allowing Him to have control over my life. So, when God began to lead our lives in this direction (which, by the way, began almost 6 years ago), and understanding what He has done for us so that we could know Him, how in the world could we say no. Yes, at first, there was resistance on our part. But God is so patient. He slowly and methodically revealed to us His plan for our family. It is somewhat unnerving leaving the familiar for the unfamiliar, but He does promise in the Bible that “He will never leave us or forsake us”. Knowing the price He was willing to pay just so I could know Him, when He asked us to go, there was only one correct response – YES!!

Why we are going - Part 2 (read pt. 1 first) - finale coming soon...

A few days had passed when suddenly there was horrible screaming and panic in the city. The enemy had returned. He was doing exactly as the young man had predicted. Men, women and children had no chance. The enemy was taking no prisoners. The young man told the King, “We have to run right now or else we will be killed.” The King did something that the young man could not believe. He got up and walked right out into the street. He was out in the wide open. The young man just knew that this was the end for his Friend. The enemy turned the corner and headed down the street the King was standing in. When He approached the King, he knew exactly who He was. The enemy said, “What are you doing here? You know that this is my dominion and you are not allowed to be here.” This puzzled the young man. He thought that his Friend the King would be immediately killed. The enemy said, “Your Kingdom is far away. You have no right to come and intrude on my city.” The young man could hardly believe what he had heard. He turned to the King and said, “You have a Kingdom? You are a King?” The enemy interrupted and said, “Yes, He has his own Kingdom. I was once part of that Kingdom, but the King would not allow me to have any control. There was a great fight over the control of the Kingdom and I was forced to leave. I have come to this place to set up my kingdom and now this King thinks He can come here and take over. Well, He is sadly mistaken.” The King said to the enemy, “I AM the only one who can bring freedom to this city and to my young friend and I will do whatever is necessary for that to happen.” The enemy told the King, “Meet me on the hill, just outside of the city and we will fight it out to the finish.” The King replied, “I will see you there tomorrow.” The young man could hardly believe what he was hearing. First his Friend was no ordinary man, but a King and this King was going to stand up against the horrible enemy. He thought to himself, “What kind of person is willing to take such a risk for a group of people that is not His immediate family? Why would a King even think about leaving His own Kingdom to come and make war against an enemy that He has already defeated once?” The young man had never known his own father. He was actually orphaned as a boy and he learned how to survive on his own. He had never seen or known this kind of love in his entire life. It had to be too good to be true. The stage had been set for the final showdown.
The next day came and the King made his way to the hill. The young man walked with Him. As they approached, they could see the enemy standing there waiting on the King to arrive. Almost everyone in the city was there to watch this epic battle. As the King made His way up the hill He began to notice the legion of the enemy’s followers beginning to surround the people of the city. The people began to run in every direction to find anywhere to hide. When the King reached the top of the hill the enemy never said a word, he immediately began to attack the King. The King was not taken by surprise, because this is exactly the way the enemy did battle the first time the King defeated him. The King drew His sword and began to fight. When the legion saw the battle on the hill they immediately ran to the hill to attack the King. The young man could not do anything. He was caught in the middle of the fighting. He could hardly believe what He was seeing. The King was killing one enemy after another. Every time one would attack He would turn and catch them with the sword. The battle went on for hours until there was only the enemy and the King left on the hill. Meanwhile, the young man was in shock from all of the fighting that had been going on all around him. The enemy realized that all of his followers had been eliminated by the King. The only thing the enemy thought he could do to truly hurt the King would be to kill the young man. Instantly, the enemy ran straight at the young man with his spear held high in the air ready to run it through the young man when suddenly the King stepped in and stood over the young man. When the enemy jumped to plunge the spear in the young man the King absorbed the blow and simultaneously drove His sword right through the heart of the enemy rendering him dead. The young man could feel the blood of the King pour over him. The King had been willing to do the unthinkable. The blood of the King gave the young man life. The young man held the King’s head in his arms and asked, “How could you do such a thing? Why would you be willing to make the ultimate sacrifice for me? I am not your son. I am not a member of your family.” The King said, “I know you are not my relative by birth, but I want to extend an invitation to you. I want to extend to you the right to become my son. Will you take on my royal name?” The young man was astonished. The King wanted him to be His son. The King had made the ultimate sacrifice for the young man. Why would he not want to be the son of the One who gave all for him? It was all the young man could do to choke out the word “yes” through his tears. The King was growing weak. He began to speak in a low whisper and said, “My son, there are other cities like yours that are have come under attack by enemies much like the one defeated today. The followers of this enemy are many. Will you go and stand in defense of the ones that are helpless and have no hope? My promise to you is that I will never leave you or forsake you. My Spirit will always be with you. I will be your source of courage, hope and strength. I am asking you to leave the familiar for the unfamiliar just as I have done for you. I will not force you to go and even if you don’t go you will still be my son. The choice is yours.” The young man thought about the question. It would be a fearful thing to leave the familiar for the unfamiliar. But knowing that the Spirit of the King would remain with him, he knew he had nothing to fear. There was only one correct response to the request of the King – “YES”.

Why we are going - Part 1...more coming soon.

I would be very naïve to think that everyone that knows us well has not, at some time or another, thought to themselves, “What are they doing? How can they sell their house, cars, furniture and anything else that is not nailed down? Why would Pat give up a business that has been very good to his family?” And let’s not leave out this one, “How can they take away the grandkids? It’s not right. How can they be so selfish?” I am not sure if it is to that extreme, but in one way or another I am sure that our sanity in making the decision to leave everything and everyone so we can move to a developing country where we don’t speak the language and the culture is quite different from our own has been questioned. The simple answer would be, “God has called us to do this and we want to obey Him.” For some of you that take the time to keep up with us, that may not be the most adequate explanation. I am writing this post to help you have a better understanding of why we are doing what we are doing. The best way I know how to do this is to tell you a story. Anyone who reads this can find themselves somewhere in the story. So here goes…

Many years ago there was King who lived in a distant country. This King was very powerful. He had a Kingdom that was impenetrable by any force. Along with being so powerful and having an impenetrable Kingdom this King had a court that served Him 24 hours a day 7 days a week. He was loved and adored by all of those in His Kingdom. One day the King heard of a city that was under attack night and day. The King had such a great heart of love and compassion that He immediately left His Kingdom in order to free the city that was under attack. When He arrived in the city, what He had heard was true. The people really were under attack. As He walked through the streets of that city there was so much heartache and pain. His heart broke for the people. The King decided it would be best if no one knew He was a King. He decided to disguise Himself so He would blend in with everyone else. He looked like any other man in the city. The King began to live His life in and among the people of that city in order to get an idea of the enemy and what it would take to free these people. While living there He befriended a young man. This young man had no idea that the King was really a King. All he knew was this man was friendly and he could trust Him. One day the King asked the young man, “When does your enemy attack?”, and the young man said, “He is a devious enemy and he gives no warning. He comes at any time, day or night.” Then the King asked, “What type of things does he do?”, and the young man said, “He constantly steals, kills and destroys. He belittles us and makes us feel completely worthless. Anything that we have that is of any value he comes and takes it away. This enemy is ruthless. He kills for the pure joy that it brings him. Everything that we have he has taken and destroyed it. And now he says he is coming to take our lives and destroy them.” This news greatly troubled the King. Now His heart truly was breaking, not only for everyone in the city, but now He had a personal investment in the young man. The King knew that He could only do one thing…confront the enemy.