I volunteer as tribute...

Here I am again, after an extended absence. I have been so busy that I have had no time to post on this thing. So, I'm going to try to be better about that. Especially if I can share a fraction of what I've been learning with all of you. The past few months my world has been completely rocked in regards to how I live my life. Being surrounded by people who have a true obedience to the Word and what the Lord has called us to do has definitely made me examine my own life. 


With my upcoming journey to South Asia this summer, I have been learning a lot about the Nations and what it means, in the words of Kristen White, to have "the whole church take the whole Gospel to the whole world." Easier said than done right? Yes and no. Sure, there are tons of logistics that need to be figured out, but it starts with obedience to Christ. That's it. Just go. Do what He commands in Matthew 28: 19-20 when He says to, "Go therefor and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you." 


Although, while it starts with this simple obedience to go, it does come at a price. In Luke 9: 23-24 Jesus gives it to us straight saying, "If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it." Woah! Bold statement. We must surrender everything to follow Christ. Our lives are not our own when we choose to enter into a relationship with Him. In Radical, David Platt says it perfectly saying that, "a relationship with Jesus requires total, superior, and exclusive devotion." 


It's a huge responsibility, but it's also completely necessary. God doesn't need us. He could do this all on His own, but He chooses to allow us to be a part of the advancement of the Gospel. What an honor! And yes, it comes at a price as we have already discussed, but think of those that are lost. Think of the people every day around the world that are dying without hearing the name of Christ, who will spend eternity in hell. It wrecks me to think that I haven't done anything sooner. 


With the upcoming release of The Hunger Games movie, most people are familiar with the scene at the Reaping where Katniss stands up, raising her hand, as they drag her sister Prim off to compete in The Hunger Games screaming, "I volunteer as tribute!" in order to take her sister's place. What devotion! To potentially give your life, fighting in a battle you may not survive just so another doesn't have to. Although, this is just a movie, what if Christians around the world stood up saying, "I volunteer as tribute... in order to reach the nations," putting their lives on the line so that the lost may come to know the truth.


Would you "volunteer as tribute?"