"Show Me!"

It was the morning of March 16th, 2014, as I sat in the back seat of our black mini van on the way home from the Minnesota National Open. After a long week, everyone was tired, and nobody really felt like socializing much. Kate fell asleep in the back seat next to me, Beth got out her iPhone, and Christine started to edit photos she had taken at the tournament, as our moms talked quietly in the front of the car. 

Restlessly, I gazed out my window, thinking about the tournament. Hearing Emily's name on impromptu final breaks...... hanging out with Maria Andrews all Saturday....... going to church with Caroline and Sarah...... running across campus at night like nobody was watching....... great conversations with Bailey........ fun cafeteria memories with my club and Lincoln........ watching Michael and Noah rock their apol rounds...... trying to stay warm on a bench outside with Sarah and Jenae......................

"Hey, Hannah, I have those books for you!  I think you're gonna like them, this one's super cool."  

I shuffled around in my backpack until I found it. The title was printed in bold, blue letters across a matted white background:

"Rediscover Catholicism", by Matthew Kelly

I opened up the first chapter, expecting to learn more about the differences between Catholicism and my Evangelical Free Protestant denomination. But I found something much different:

" 'THE CRY FOR HELP'

.... In reference to the well-known fact that [Mahatma] Gandhi read from the New Testament every day and often quoted the Christian Scriptures, a reporter once asked him why he had never become a Christian. He answered, 

'If I had ever met one, I would have become one.'

In his own way, Gandhi was saying, 'Don't tell me - show me!' revealing his yearning for an example of an authentic life."

Ever since that morning driving home from the Open, my mind won't let go of this quote. 

This world longs for something that we have. At some point in their lives, everyone is forced to ask a simple question: "Why am I here?"  or  "What is the meaning of life?"  God created each man with an innate desire for more than just life on its face value. 

Christianity has what they need.

The problem is, all the majority of people see of Christianity is Christians themselves.  And most Christians do a horrible job of representing the Christian faith. 

One of the apologetics topics for Category 4 (Salvation) is:

Analyze and respond to the statement, "I don't think I want to be a Christian, as Christians are hypocritical, intolerant and judgmental." -Anonymous

This question is probably my favorite topic out of all 5 categories, because I think it's true. We, as the modern church, have done little to further the name of Christ and have greatly damaged His name in the eyes of the world. And I can say that, because I'm one of the worse. So often, I'm more focused on me than anyone else. I'm rarely willing to give up my free time to serve others, I never rejoice in suffering, I ignore the people I want to ignore, and only love the people I want to love. So often, I find myself more excited over a successful shopping trip or a winning debate round than I do over hearing something from God. I find myself more dissatisfied with my appearance in the mirror at times than I've ever felt over the laxness in my spiritual life. 

And the world watches the whole thing.

Our lives are like a story..... and we're not the only ones reading them. Others around us are constantly watching the way we handle circumstances, the way we love, the way we rejoice, and the way we LIVE.

What do they see?

If you've ever seen someone truly living even just a moment of their lives in the light of the cross, you know how incredible and radiant that kind of lifestyle appears. I've seen it in one of my best friends, sitting across the room from me absorbing every word of our apologetics Bible study. I've heard it over the phone in the voice of my adopted "big sister", as she asked how I was doing with a real, personal interest. I've absorbed it as I looked deep into the eyes of a spiritual encourager of mine and saw the passion of Christ raging in them as we talked about Jesus. 

And every time I see it, I pray...... God, let that be me. Let me care on that level. Let me live like that.

What if the world had been able to meet some of them?  What if a hopeless searcher had been able to see, and hear the love of God through us?

Where do we start?  Ultimately, I think it's different for each person, but it all stems from the same place. 

It starts on our knees. 

When was the last time you found yourself there?

Starts with One

7 billion people. 7 billion dreams. 7 billion lifestyles, personal ideals, habits, goals and hearts.

And you are just one. You can't touch each of those billions of hearts. We are weak, we are small, we are powerless. We are:

1

out of 

7,000,000,000

And He calls us to change the world.

Most of us have heard those words pretty often. I remember the first time I heard them at a speech and debate tournament. Former KS state rep, Mrs. Cheryl Reynolds, was filling some time up on the podium before the awards ceremony at the Derby Dust-Up Qualifier in 2011. Her little explanation of NCFCA's purpose and history was interesting, but the essence of what she said towards the end was what truly struck me: "NCFCA's goal is to raise up world-changers. Currently, we even have a former student who's running for a seat in government!"   My little 13-year-old heart was stirred at these words, as I pictured myself in a smart-looking black suit with a glittering red necklace and a stylish hairdo, debating America's leading politicians, and fighting for a seat in congress...... a world-changer.

Almost four years later, I can say that that li'l aspiration carries no weight. I have no plans of becoming a politician, or spending my life in the realm of suits, debate or congress. But I also have no plans of becoming that kind of world-changer. Maybe because now, I'm realizing just how big the world is.

I cannot change the entire world. Even if I followed my former dreams of running for congress, I still wouldn't have been able to touch 7 billion people. But maybe, we were never meant to.

How do you define world-changer?  Katie Davis, a missionary in Uganda, had this to say on the topic:

     "Sometimes working in a Third World country makes me feel like I am emptying the ocean with an eyedropper....  I have learned that I will not change the world. Jesus will do that. I can, however, change the world for one person. ........Many days, I am still overwhelmed by the magnitude of the need ....And I look at the life of my Savior, who stopped for one."

If you've ever debated an LD resolution that has anything to do with the rights of an individual, you might've been asked the following question: "How much is a human life worth?"  Often the question didn't even need to be asked; the answer seems pretty straightforward. "Humans have inherent worth, that can't be measured in material things."  But how many of us actually live by that standard?  Do we really treat the people around us as priceless treasures with immaterial worth?  Do we ever think about the fact that, in God's eyes, one soul in and of itself..... not what that soul can do, not what it looks like, not what it acts like, not how popular it is, not how fun it is to be around, but the soul ITSELF...... is worth more than the entire material universe?

My dad used to talk about that all the time in our apologetics class. I heard it, and I was amazed by the fact that God would care that much about me. But I ignored the fact that that standard didn't just apply to me.... God saw every human through that lens. God's standard isn't that the 7 billion people on planet earth, and the trillions of humans that have lead their lives throughout history, combined, are worth more than the entire material universe. God's standard is ONE. One starving child in Africa. One victim of human trafficking. One Syrian refugee. One unborn baby. One foster child. One annoying eight-year-old who lives up your street.

In God's eyes?  They're worth pouring out your entire life over. They're worth dying for. You can take all the riches of the world, all the kingdoms, all the concerts, all the flashing lights, all the money, all the clothes, all the stars in the heavens, all the planets, all the supernovas and galaxies, all the fire and light and marvels of space, tie it all up with a bow............... and it's still not as valuable as the nine year old girl in Nepal, trapped in a slave industry she may never escape.

What if someone decided to live as though that were true?

One-hundred and four years ago, someone did. Her name was Agnes. Agnes was an Albanian Catholic, surrounded by wealth and luxury. Most of her contemporaries stayed in their comfortable European surroundings, living care-free and self-centered lives. But Agnes had a higher calling on her life. When she turned eighteen, she became a nun, and dedicated her entire life to serving God wherever He called her. She followed His voice to the broken nation of India, and down into the slums of Calcutta. Her question to God was not, "How am I going to do this?" or "How will I benefit?"  Her prayer was a simple and obedient: "How can I help?"  This woman of God had His eyes for the world. She saw the worth in one person. Mother Theresa, the name by which we now know Agnes, once put it this way:

     "I believe in person-to-person contact. Every person is Christ for me, and since there is only one Jesus, the person I am meeting is the one person in the world at that moment."

Mother Theresa held true to this idea her entire life. As those around her explained,

     "From the moment you were with her, there was only you and her. She wasn't looking over your shoulder to see what was happening around you. You had her full attention. It was as if nothing else existed to her except you."

You don't have to be in a third-world country to live this kind of life. There are so many people around us, even now, who are hurting. Each one, individually, is worth more than the world. They are the image of Christ.

Getting Practical

This week, I hope you'll visit the Prayer Wall again to see the featured prayers for this week. If you feel led to lift up the victims of human trafficking with me, think about a new challenge. Don't pray: "God, please bless the women and children trapped in the slave industry."  Lock yourself in your prayer closet, and wrestle for the soul of just one. Start pulling down the roof-tiles. Spend yourself for one. I've been wrestling in prayer for one human trafficking girl for almost three months now, and it's been an amazing experience!

If you feel motivated to fight for one girl with me, I would encourage you to go all-in. You can find out more about justice for human trafficking at Tiny Hands International, which is one of my favorite sites on the topic. You can even join their official One-Girl Prayer Initiative, to spiritually "adopt" a human trafficking victim, and show your support by wearing their bracelet. I've ordered mine, and I can't wait for it to come in!

(This kind of prayer is complicated and can be uncomfortable. I'd love to talk you more about it one on one, if you want, feel free to email me!!)

Today, I still long to be a world-changer. But now I have a completely new idea of what that means. My goal in life is to have the eyes of Mother Theresa..... to be able to stop for one.