I was lost, but now I'm found
Now I know the sweetest sound
Father's love and hope surround
Here is my home
- Edge Kingsland
There's no place I'd rather be
There's no place I'd rather be
There's no place I'd rather be
Than here in Your love, here in Your love
- United Pursuit
Those lyrics are from two songs that might as well define my time here in New Zealand. I am more at home here than I have ever been in my life. But it's not because of where I am or even because of who I am here with. It's because I'm beginning to realize what it means to follow a God who is omnipresent. To be completely surrounded by a God whose Life and Power and Love and Wisdom aren't quite as far off as He sometimes seems.
God isn't out there. He's intimately intertwined.
The world itself is an expression of who He is. Vast beyond measure or comprehension. Beautiful and inviting, yet powerful and terrifying. We either decide to approach it in a way that awakens our curiosity and stirs life up inside of our bellies, constantly challenging and growing us...or we ignore that it is there while life passes us by. And we are without excuse. There is always something to discover, something to question, something to realize.
But let's be honest... I didn't learn that here. That's part of why I came to New Zealand in the first place. It's a gorgeous country. As the last land in the world to be discovered, its natural beauty is still virtually unspoiled. I was fully expecting to experience God through nature here. What I wasn't expecting was to find His nature imprinted all over my own soul.
"You can't kill the wonder of who God is inside of a human being."
God in all His fullness was pleased to live in Christ, who couldn't be held down by the grave. And the Spirit of Christ is in me. There is something of the wonder of God in me.
That's Irenaeus of Lyons. He was the student of a guy named Polycarp who was the student of the apostle John, one of Jesus's twelve. He's also the author of one of my favorite quotes...
The glory of God is the human person fully alive.
Christ came that we may have life, and have it to the full. (John 10:10) Since I've been here, I've been exploring the question of what God's plan is for my life. I've asked Him quite often to reveal it to me. I wanted Him to give me some clear-cut, fantastic mission. And this past Sunday at church, a woman got up and God spoke through her about what His plan is for my life. It's funny how simple of a plan it is compared to what I was expecting. (Sound familiar? Take a look at my second post, "Leaving Home." I tend to learn the same lessons about a hundred times over before I internalize them.)
God's plan for me is... me. He's written it all over my heart. He has given me talents and abilities and curiosities and desires and passions. And rather than writing my script out for me, telling me what to wear and what to eat for breakfast, He decided to give me the ability to choose my own path.
Adam and Eve were given dominion and free will from the very start. They were made to live in the liberty of God's love without the fear of getting life wrong. Fear of mistakes and fear of the future entered the world when they acted out of selfishness rather than love. But with Christ in me, I live in the Father's perfect love. And perfect love casts out all fear.
God's plan is to grow me to full maturity. He wants me to take full responsibility for my own life. And hopefully take full advantage of the opportunities He brings my way. That doesn't mean I'm going to try to control my future. It means I'm going to live in my freedom to enjoy the present moment with a thankful heart. I'm going to follow my desires, which He gave me in the first place, and I'm going to do what makes me happy. When doors close, I can joyfully trust Him. He who made me knows me and ultimately I will not be disappointed.
"Don't ask yourself what the world needs; ask yourself what makes you come alive. And then go and do that. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive."
-Howard Thurman
Pursue passion
Cultivate curiosity
Tame talents
Live in love
Traveling has a strangely paradoxical effect on the way I view the world. When I spend enough time in one place, I become attached to relationships, cultures, memories, and landscapes. New Zealand really has become like another home to me. In 72 days I'll be leaving this home to go back to another. No matter where I go, I'll be at least a little homesick. The more places and people and seasons of life I grow to love, the more homesick I will be for them as I move on...which will make me feel less and less at home in the world. But as bittersweet as that may sound, it makes me want to travel all the more. I think I was made for this.
We are pilgrims here on earth. Not seeking a destination, but finding our home in our Lord who leads us.
God is using the world to draw me to Himself. He shows me familiar beauties and new beauties that always refresh me and put thankfulness in my heart. When I walk away from them, I get homesick...then I remember that all the beauty in all the world is a single expression of who He is. A little taste of what Heaven will be like. My home is in the eternal richness of the life of Christ, which is fully available to me here and now and anywhere I may go.
Since you have been raised to new life with Christ, set your sights on the realities of heaven, where Christ sits in the place of honor at God’s right hand. Think about the things of heaven, not the things of earth. For you died to this life, and your real life is hidden with Christ in God. And when Christ, who is your life, is revealed to the whole world, you will share in all his glory.
-Colossians 3:1-4
