For those who do not make a commitment to take the gospel to the ends of earth, the concerns of radicalism strangely disappear. In one’s own locale resisting discomfort is not required. On the contrary, keeping one’s family as safe and comfortable as possible might be the mark of the most mature Christians on the home front.
Relatedly, Dostoyevsky had this great line about loving humanity in general (the abstract, suffering “other”): “The more I love humanity in general the less I love man in particular. In my dreams, I often make plans for the service of humanity, and perhaps I might actually face crucifixion if it were suddenly necessary. Yet I am incapable of living in the same room with anyone for two days together.“
I love that you’re writing about this. There isn’t a lot of guidance for Christians who both want to serve the Lord and suffer from normal amounts of egotistical grandiosity. Your work is so important for folks trying to discern a calling.
Yes, such a good quote! Maybe we should call it “first century levels of egotistical grandiosity”, because I’m not sure early Christians would have any category for the ways we try to “change the world.”
We moved overseas... and our best friends moved to a highly secular area of the US so that they could create community with people who don't know Jesus but would like to. Our churches sometimes understand what we are doing more than they catch our friends' vision... but they are trying to change that! <3
Once again, you are speaking my language. My husband and I went to an English-speaking country (Belize); however, because we lived in the jungles of Belize, on solar power and rainwater...we were very holy indeed. Our colleagues joked that we were "real" missionaries. As opposed to our second term when we felt very guilty for having a pool in our backyard. Yet, we did the same amount of work as in Belize, just different. At the same time, we lost support because we were not in the 10/40 window, which is thought to be VERY HOLY.
Support raising was tough, but it was our favorite thing. We were good at building relationships. It is about marketing yourself. It is difficult but necessary to get on the field.
I like the comparison you made about living in the USA. It's an important point.
Ah, the competition for holiness points. It sounds surprising to those who haven’t lived it, but it really is wild. And then the whiplash of how we pursue comfort at home is just… a lot.
Relatedly, Dostoyevsky had this great line about loving humanity in general (the abstract, suffering “other”): “The more I love humanity in general the less I love man in particular. In my dreams, I often make plans for the service of humanity, and perhaps I might actually face crucifixion if it were suddenly necessary. Yet I am incapable of living in the same room with anyone for two days together.“
I love that you’re writing about this. There isn’t a lot of guidance for Christians who both want to serve the Lord and suffer from normal amounts of egotistical grandiosity. Your work is so important for folks trying to discern a calling.
Yes, such a good quote! Maybe we should call it “first century levels of egotistical grandiosity”, because I’m not sure early Christians would have any category for the ways we try to “change the world.”
We moved overseas... and our best friends moved to a highly secular area of the US so that they could create community with people who don't know Jesus but would like to. Our churches sometimes understand what we are doing more than they catch our friends' vision... but they are trying to change that! <3
I’m so glad to hear that churches are trying to expand their vision for what faithfulness can look like.
Once again, you are speaking my language. My husband and I went to an English-speaking country (Belize); however, because we lived in the jungles of Belize, on solar power and rainwater...we were very holy indeed. Our colleagues joked that we were "real" missionaries. As opposed to our second term when we felt very guilty for having a pool in our backyard. Yet, we did the same amount of work as in Belize, just different. At the same time, we lost support because we were not in the 10/40 window, which is thought to be VERY HOLY.
Support raising was tough, but it was our favorite thing. We were good at building relationships. It is about marketing yourself. It is difficult but necessary to get on the field.
I like the comparison you made about living in the USA. It's an important point.
Ah, the competition for holiness points. It sounds surprising to those who haven’t lived it, but it really is wild. And then the whiplash of how we pursue comfort at home is just… a lot.