Tuesday, March 8, 2011

Lag Time

First, random notes:
The Dutch forced me to eat a roast beef sandwich composed primarily of bean sprouts. Tragic.
Public transportation is a fantastic idea! I want to live in a city with trams and a metro. Grand Rapids could do with 2 or three basic tram lines to replace the current Dash shuttles. Very hard to actually implement though. The cycling/walking/pub. transport lifestyle is built into the foundation of this city and its society.
I love my teammates. Because of them, I go to bed smiling every night.

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I've spoken with students born in China, Iraq, Africa, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Netherlands, and England. They are all Dutch (though some say they don't identify strongly with any homeland). God's young people, scattered across the world, are gathering in places like Rotterdam where education and economics meet. The only thing is, they do not yet know about God. They don't know they're wanted. Sometimes, they don't want to be wanted. For many of the students I talked to, their life is given meaning through achievement. They are unsure if a Christian god exists. If it existed, or if it was even possible, they wouldn't want it either. How could the existence of a god, or the existence of heaven or hell, affect them right now? What benefit would they receive?

It's hard to respond to these questions. So far, I've been sidestepping them. In the best cases I say "I don't know". As I experience frustration and the temptation to pout in a corner, my comfort is that the Lord is solely responsible for answering their questions and changing their hearts. The only action I can take to make this better is to pray. I pray I will be given words to say so that I may fearlessly communicate the message of God's love and Christ's death. I pray God will develop these questions further in their hearts and show himself to them soon.

I'm trying to understand that this creation is big and I am a vapor.  Pray that we (you and me) can put aside our selfishness to love all of God's people. 

- Peter W.

1 comment:

  1. Peter... your ponderings are fantastic! Thanks for articulating them.

    When I read this, I wanted to yell outloud 'YES' - You said, "They are unsure if a Christian god exists. If it existed, or if it was even possible, they wouldn't want it either."

    This is the EXACT response of a PostChristian culture that is developing in the US today, and will be here in a few short years. What you are experiencing and learning today will be invaluable at home for tomorrow. Keep engaging, m'man! The Gospel is powerful!

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