A New View

I had jury duty today. Fun times. What's more, I had to go downtown since I'm barely in Denver county. And I do mean barely, as Jefferson County goes down the street to the west of my complex and right behind it.

I'm sure we all groan when we get the notice in the mail. I don't think one person I know would be jumping for joy, excited that they get to go possibly serve on a jury. OK, so maybe my brother, but he's done it before.

They show you this video, telling you what you can expect when and if you get called in to serve. On the video, they say thanks for coming and helping out. Right, like you have a choice. Hmm, shall I go to jury duty, or have a warrant out for my arrest. Tough choice.

I did get a bonus and got released early so I was able to go to lunch with my dad. That was fun. I enjoy the time I get to spend with him. If I had to go downtown for anything, it was so I could spend lunch with my dad.

All of that isn't really the point of this post. I had to tell you that so I could tell you what happened on the way down my civil duty. I took the light rail down, as it would be better than driving downtown and parking for $8.00 a day, or since we got a discount for serving our duty, $3.00. (I got two free passes from the county as I took the light rail, so it didn't cost me a thing, except gas. God is good!)

On the way down, and I guess on the way back too, as they didn't move, there are a lot of warehouse type places for various things. I don't really know what they are, but there's a lot of them. Most of them are pretty run down. Looking out the window, watching theses buildings go by, I got a sense that I wasn't in Kansas anymore. OK, so I wasn't in Kansas to begin with, but you hopefully know what I mean. If you have ever been anywhere new, here in the States, or overseas, you should get the point. I was looking at them with a new view, like I do when I'm in a new country.

It's hard to explain if you don't know the feeling. I was transported back to the slums of India, Nepal, Vietnam. Seeing with new eyes the part of the city that I live in. Knowing that these people, just like the people of a different culture, are going to Hell. It was heart-wrenching. I tried very hard not to cry there in my seat, with many people surrounding me. I looked around, watching them. Reading books, listening to their MP3 players like me, lost in their own thoughts. Did they know the Truth? Did they think about their own mortality, what would happen with they 'crossed that bridge', so to speak?

I'm called to missions overseas. That is my calling, my heart. I believe I have an anointing on my life that very few people have. I would love to go to the 'forbidden' countries, the ones torn by war and poverty and a corrupt government, the ones that are in no way safe for someone living there, let alone someone traveling there. Somalia is one country I would love to go to. The middle east is another example. The closed countries. If God told me to go, I would have the bags packed ready to go in no time flat.

I've been asked the question, "Why do you go overseas? Don't people here in the States need it too?" Yes, they do. We look at the times we live in and we need it more than ever. I'm not saying I'm not called here. Our mission field is outside our doors, our church walls. When I'm here in the States, I'm called here. When I'm overseas, I'm called there. There are some that are called overseas full time. There are those that are called to be here full time. Does any of this make sense?

I think what the Church needs, as a whole, especially in the States, is a New View, like I got today. We spend more time on who's right, or who has the better 'whatever', or whose cool when we need to be focused on the souls of man. So you don't believe in speaking in tongues, or some of the gifts. I don't really care. As long as you are willing to be changed by God and be a vessel for His work, it doesn't really matter. It doesn't mean you're going to hell. I believe its another level that God has made for us to experience, but it means nothing to the validation of your Salvation. (Romans 10:9 "If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved." It's doesn't say you have to speak in tongues, or believe in the other spiritual gifts to be saved; only that we have to believe in and confess Jesus as Lord and the true and LIVING Son of God.)

We need to figure out for ourselves, each of us individually, what is more important. Being right, looking cool, or bringing the saving knowledge of Jesus Christ to this world. So, what will it be?