Suite

Following. 

In a commencement address at Stanford, Steve Jobs talked about connecting the dots that made up the decisions in his life that got him the life he lived.  We just had two experiences that connected some dots for us that we would like to be sure to remember.

First, last night we went to dinner with two rather young missionary couples.  One has two kids and has been here for 17 years, the other has eight and they have been here since 2002.  Here are two couples, who have dedicated their lives to Christ and followed him around the world.  In our conversations, it was obvious that they love their life in Niger.  They love the life God has given them. 

The second dot came when my daughter, Michele, posted on Facebook a video of the old 1971 Young Life camp recruitment film, Time For Living.  If you haven't seen it, maybe Michele would put a comment on the blog with the email address.  Though it took an hour to download we watched it this morning.  Here is an organization, full of people who have dedicated their lives to Christ and followed him into the world of kids.  The important thing is they love kids and they love the life and ministry that God has given them.

We reflected on what Christ has done in our lives.  What would our lives be like if we hadn’t followed Christ into Young Life.  Or maybe better said, if we hadn’t been lured into Young Life and then learned to follow Christ as a result.  The film brought back all of the camping memories that we experienced, the kids we got to know, the fun we had, the laugh until you cry humor, the hikes, the climbs, the freedom to be crazy, the people in the club leadership teams, and then the God’s good news talks, both the hearing of them and the preparing of them.  How rich our life has been because God used Tom Scheuerman to get us where we could hear Jesus calling our names.  We absolutely love the life God has given us in a large part because of Young Life.

Now we find ourselves in Niger, and in our minds, following Christ.  We frankly are not sure why we are here.  We are not feeding the poor.  We are not advocating for the vulnerable.  We are not gaining any converts to Christianity.  I’m not sure we are needed at all.  Yet, God has us here and we love it.  Why, because we are following God.

Following is an end in itself.  Whether you do it for 17 years in the hottest and most undeveloped country in the world or do it with kids, or do it next door, or with your aging parents, or as a care giver, or wherever and however, the important thing is the following.  You can follow whether you are rich or poor, old or young, with kids or alone.  You can follow anytime, anywhere, and it doesn’t even have to be “productive.”

It is when you follow that you can look back, connect the dots that God has given you and feel blessed, to find that though sometimes hard, it is a good life.  Following God is not just sufficient; it is your calling in life.

God has taken us to Niger, why we don’t know.  Where is God taking you?  You may never know the why, the important thing is He is taking … you.