Even though it’s absolutely crazy to say, I am one month away from my launch date! To have started this journey with 300 days to launch, to now being just under 30 days is such a blessing and excitement. Over the past little while, I have been reading through the Gospels to learn more about the heart of Jesus and the purpose of evangelism. This being my last blog before launch, I thought I would share some of the things that I have learned throughout reading the Gospels, and some of the things God has laid on my heart for the Race.

I think that one of the craziest things to wrap my head around as a Christian is the immeasureable love of God, which I also believe is the main message of the Gospel. Christ’s love for his people is what sent his son to earth, and what held him to the cross in his suffering. His love led him to the people that the world considered worthless and nothing, and it led Jesus through his entire ministry while on earth. His love always points me back to John 3:16 - a verse I have known by heart most of my life, but one that also has deepened in meaning throughout my walk with Christ. I have four big takeaways from the Gospels that have deepened my understanding about what it truly means to follow Christ: following God is not a passive action, true faith exceeds comprehension, the greatness of God has nothing to do with me, and surrendering to God is an act of love. 

The first point, following God is not a passive action, was something I saw very early on in the Gospels. When I first wrote it down, it seemed obvious, following someone is naturally an active action. What I think it truly means, however, is that when we receive salvation by repenting of our sin and surrendering our lives to Christ, there is a shift. We are no longer called to watch God work from the sidelines or simply exist within our faith, but our life’s purpose is forever branded on our hearts. We are called to take Christ and the Gospel to the nations! We are called to bring others into the faith that saved us, and to draw others into the eternal path we walk on. There are seasons of simply being with God, but even those are not seasons of stagnation. When we read the Word, we are called to seek God, to encounter him in his truth. It is important to understand that following God actively is not the same as using works as a means of “earning our salvation”. To follow God actively is to seek him in all circumstances, to strive to glorify him in everything we do, and to walk in surrender to his will - EVERY DAY! I think so many Christans today get stuck between being saved and being a vessel for Christ, and it’s easy to form a daily checklist of things to do to “be a good christian”. In Matthew chapter four, Jesus calls Peter, Andrew, James, and John to follow him while they are fishing. He says to them, “Come, follow me, and I will show you how to fish for people!”. He calls them to two immediate active following actions. He calls them to follow him - to follow his teaching and the works he would do, to actually follow him as he journeyed throughout the years of his ministry. He also calls them to action - to emulate Christ’s character by making disciples. When you turn to God and accept the gift of salvation, your life will change from the encounter. To follow God requires action and active faith!

The second point, true faith exceeds comprehension, is something that is hard to settle with. Throughout the entirety of the Word, God doesn’t ask us to understand everything he says or does, he simply asks us to have faith and trust him. In Proverbs 3:5, the Lord tells us to not lean on our own understanding and to just trust him with all of our heart. In the disciples walk with Christ they asked a lot of questions about the work of God and his mysterious plan, and the pharisees constantly questions Jesus’ motives and his works. One of the biggest things I’ve learned throughout my own walk with Christ has been that understanding the plan of God is not a requirement to trust that he is good and his ways are higher! As Jesus reminds the disciples again and again before his death that he will go to the cross and die, but will raise again, the try to comprehend how that could happen instead of trust the God they have seen heal the sick and walk on water. It is normal to have doubts and questions, we are all human, but when those doubts about Christ manifest into a lack of trust in his control or belief in who he says he is, there are issues. You don’t have to understand the will of God to follow him. You don’t have to comprehend what is happening around you to trust that he is the unchanging, perfect Lord, and his plans are always for our good! In fact, I think the most beautiful faith comes without comprehension. That is what true faith is - an understanding of the character of Christ, and a set mind and heart to trust in that more than whatever circumstances you may be facing in the moment. 

The third point, the greatness of God has nothing to do with me, is another hard pill to swallow sometimes. When I first read this in a commentary, I sat with it for a second. Sometimes I think that my faith in hard times, or choosing to do the right thing even when it’s not easy, or sharing the Gospel are testaments to my greatness and the goodness of my heart. Though that’s not entirely untrue, the good works that we do and our heart to serve others is ultimately a reflection of the goodness of God and a glorification of his character and heart for us. In Luke 19, I was reading about Zacchaeus, when I wrote this thought down - “the beauty of Christ is the fact that his greatness has nothing to do with me. My ‘good works’ add nothing to him, yet he sees me. He has called me by name. He chose me to glorify his kingdom when he could just as easily glorify himself without me.” Zacchaeus was a tax collector, hated as much as the Romans by the Jewish people - his own people. He took money and was not a man of integrity, and Jesus dined and fellowshipped in the house of Zacchaeus. After he meets with Jesus, Zacchaeus surrenders his life and wealth to the Lord by giving it back to the people and is saved. Zacchaeus did not add anything to Christ, he wasn’t a great guy or a stand-up Jew. He was living in sin, and yet Jesus looked on him with mercy and offered him salvation, all while the townspeople looked on with disgust. Jesus was already great before Zacchaeus, but he didn’t leave Zacchaeus in his sin and instead called him by name into the family of God. God doesn’t need us, but he still died for our sins and chose to give us a way out of darkness. We add nothing to God, and still he invites us sinners to dine and fellowship with him!

The last point, surrendering to God is an act of love, is something that has truly deepened my understanding of salvation and my walk with the Lord. The only way to truly follow God is to surrender completely to him. In Luke 14, Jesus tells the people the cost of following him. He calls them to carry their cross and to love God with everything they have, later tell them, “So you cannot become my disciple without giving up everything you own.” To follow God is to follow ONLY God! You cannot serve two masters, and you cannot give your heart to anything but Christ. This thought of surrender completely changed the way I look at John 3:16. God surrendered his son Jesus, who surrendered his life on the cross all out of love for US, and so that we can in trun surrender our life to the Lord and walk with him in complete faith. I firmly believe that you cannot surrender to something you don’t love, and you cannot love something without sacrifice - good or bad. It’s almost like a endless circle of surrender. We love God with our heart soul mind and strength. Because we love him, we surrender our lives to him. Surrendering your life require sacrificing your old habits and ways of life in order to fully and completely walk in faith with God. That sacrifice, though not always easy, brings us closer to Christ and deepens our love for him! Surrendering to the Lord IS NOT EASY! It takes endurance and hard work, but it is always worth it. 

As I get closer and closer to the day I leave, I am constantly reminded of the goodness of God and how merciful he is! Being in the word and in prayer are necessary to growing in faith and closer to the Lord. My prayer is that I will carry everything that I have learned throughout reading not only the Gospels, but the word of God as a whole, with me throughout my Race and use it to glorify him and love those around me as Christ has loved me! Thank you all for your love and support, and I hope you continue to follow along and pray for me throughout this exciting new chapter of my life :)