remembering the cost of discipleship

I have arrived and moved into my dorm at Biola University where I will begin classes for my degree in Biblical Studies on Wednesday. It is an exciting experience to finally be a college student and to finally get to study the bible full-time. The one thing I have been faced with is how to adjust as my life and routine has radically changed. I realized today that I have forgotten what it really means to be a disciple. A disciple is one who has given up his own plan and embraced the call to simply walk by faith. At the church service I went to today the text was Luke 7:36-49. That passage is about a woman who the reader knows nothing about besides that she is a sinner yet she has a beautiful faith. She brings a smile to Jesus' face while everyone else is lost in their religion. What I got out of it was the simple but profound reminder that the Christian walk, when broken down, is just simply living to be faithful to Christ's callings. A life of fidelity trumps all wisdom, knowledge, good works, and religion. But living to be faithful has a huge cost that I realize now that I need to constantly commit to. To be someone who simply follows what Christ calls them to everyday means that a lot of our earthly desire have to be thrown out. This is hard to come to grips with sometimes. I am a selfish person. I want to do what I want to do and it is so hard to give up what I want to do for something that doesn't seem like fun. God knows us and knows how to stretch us. Being stretched by God is something I hate but also something I am able to love at the same time because I know it is how I learn and how God forms me into the man he wants me to be. I am looking forward to being stretched at Biola as well as looking forward to better learning how to simply be faithful to what God has called me to no matter how lame or ridiculous it sounds.

Should Christians pursue apologetics?

Here is what Karl Barth says:

The Gospel is not a truth among other truths. Rather, it sets a question-mark against all truths. The Gospel is not the door but the hinge. The man who apprehends its meaning is removed from all strife, because he is engaged in a strife with the whole, even with existence itself. Anxiety concerning the victory of the Gospel--that is, Christian Apologetics--is meaningless, because the Gospel is the victory by which the world is overcome. ... It [the Gospel] does not require representatives with a sense of responsibility, for it is as responsible for those who proclaim it as it is for those to whom it is proclaimed. It is the advocate of both. ... God does not need us. Indeed, if He were not God, He would be ashamed of us. We, at any rate, cannot be ashamed of Him. (The Epistle to the Romans, 35)

I don't know if I agree but it is definitely a credible idea that should be considered.

Belize part 4

Thursday rolled around and we had our last VBS session. I felt really worn down that day and it was hard for me to press on to give my best for these kids. The afternoon bible study went pretty smoothly but we only had a few girls show up. They went off with some of the leaders and I think they had some great conversations. After the bible study we went stayed at the baptist church and cleaned it up. Afterward we had a farewell ceremony with the pastor of the church. We exchanged gifts and words of encouragement. It was a bittersweet time. We attempted to go to sleep early since we had to be up early the next morning for our trip to Caye Caulker, a local island. We took a bus to Belize City on Friday. We then got on a water taxi for a 45 minute boat ride to the island. Right when we got there we got snorkeling gear rentals and went out to the local barrier reef. It was a fun experience as we got a short snorkeling tour of the reef and then a chance to swim and pet some wild stingrays. The rest of our time on the island (Friday afternoon, night, and Saturday morning) was a time of fun and reflection on the trip. As a team, we spent some time talking to each other about what we learned and what we loved about the trip. It was a perfect way to end the trip. On Saturday it was hard to say goodbye. The trip finally came to an end when I flew into Phoenix on Saturday night