Sharing Life and Christ

It’s hard to know what to write as I sit here just hours away from flying away from Japan for what will probably be the last time. As someone to whom writing generally comes easily, this is a bit of a new sensation. How can I possibly capture the essence of the past two years in a short letter written to all of the people that I love who make it so difficult to leave this beautiful country. Perhaps it is too ambitious a task, but I only beg your pardon as I make the attempt. I can remember a wide range of emotions as I boarded that plane in April of 2008. I was leaving the U.S. for the first time. I was starting my first real job that promised to make me an independent man. I was leaving everything that I knew and flying to a land of mystery. Who knew what lay ahead? I certainly did not. I can remember landing in Japan after what seemed like days of flying. As I stumbled around the airport trying to get my bearings, the knots in my stomach wouldn’t go away. The drive fr...

For this reason the Father loves me, because I lay down my life that I may take it up again. No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up again. This charge I have received from my Father. John 10:17, 18 When Jesus had received the sour wine, He said, “It is finished,” and He bowed His head and gave up His spirit. John 19:30 As Christians, we often compare this life to a marathon or some other kind of endurance test. While this comparison is useful in many ways, I contend that there is one crucial way in which it is very harmful. Scripture tells us that the instant that we believe on Christ for salvation we are changed. We become new creations bound for Heaven and set apart as beloved children of God. What a glorious moment when we see clearly the divine rescuing of our eternal souls from wrath by Jesus Christ. I dare say that in the heart of every true believer at that instant our enti...