Today I go for my annual heart check. I'll spend about a week on the treadmill. Stress test. EKG. The whole work up. My doctor will meet me in a place called Gojo in a country called Ethiopia which is literally on the other side of the world. He won't be gentle. My heart will be violently turned inside my chest. I will feel anxious. Afraid. Overwhelmed. My heart will be broken. To pieces. Why do I do this? Why subject myself to this rigorous annual exam? Because of something Jesus once said to me. "I came not to be served but to serve and to give my life as a ransom for many." He also said, "Doug, if anyone wants to find his life, he will lose it. And he who loses his life for my sake will find it."
Frankly, I don't know how to do what Jesus tells me. I am still learning. And in my life, I have found that if one wants to learn something, learn from the best! Go seek out those who do it well and ask them to teach you! So I save money all year for this trip. My family sacrifices so I can go. It takes time and money and effort. Traveling to Africa is not easy even by today's standards. Getting to Gojo requires us to go up mountain roads that are not always passable. (Sheep and donkeys and goats can get in the way!) We ride in cars that could fall apart in a moment's notice. The luggage stacked so high on top that I wonder if it won't flip us over along the way. We live all week in a town where electricity comes and goes. Water may or may not be available. Where Muslim and Orthodox chants keep us awake at night. But I go to meet men like Elias.
My close friend, mentor, and brother in Christ.
Elias has been my translator and mentor for several years now. He lives in northwest Ethiopia. Travels many miles by foot or by bus to get to Gojo. He is not only a pastor but a professor at a Bible college as well. I have learned so much from this man about what it means to follow Jesus more faithfully. Elias knows things about "losing his life" for Jesus that I can only dream about. Last year, Jesus spoke to him on our final night together. He shared with us through tears that Jesus was calling him to leave his home and his comfortable position to go to South Sudan and plant more churches. To put his life and the lives of those he loves in harm's way literally for the sake of the gospel.
I don't know if I will see him again. I have often wondered this past year if Elias did indeed go. And I wonder today as I get ready to board a plane if my brother is waiting for me in Gojo. I want to hear the stories he will tell. Sit at his feet and listen as he once again tells me of the Kingdom of God. Of the miracles he has seen. Of the time he has spent walking in the footsteps of Jesus. I have so much to learn.
I leave today wondering what my doctor will say. How has my heart weathered this past year? The temptations? The trials? The struggles of daily life? How has my heart done with all the stress and anxiety that I carry day in and day out? Has it grown stronger or weaker? And will the Great Physician do His great work of healing and restoring in me once again?
Here's the reality for all of us. We live in a world that conspires against us. So much in our culture today threatens to disrupt the peace of Christ in our hearts. The pace. The pressure. The stress. The anxiety. The heartaches. The pain. The mental and emotional anguish. The grief. The fear. All of these things have a hold on us in some way, shape, or form. And they will literally crush the life out of us if we let them. How do we survive? By giving what we have to Jesus. By seeking to align our lives with his life. To walk in his footsteps. So when Jesus tells us, "I came to serve and give my life as a ransom for many", we know we too will find our joy and our peace by doing the same. Could be where you live or where you work. Just seek to serve others in Jesus' name. Make that your aim today wherever you are. And when Jesus says that to find our life we have to lose it...then take steps to do that as well! Sit down and look at your time, your talent, and your treasure. How are you giving those things away? Do you have a plan to offer more of yourself with each passing year? The more you empty yourself, the more Jesus promises to fill you up. With His life. The abundant life. The true life that is the light of the world!