Yeah, yeah.. I know it’s easy to write off the “prosperity gospel” as an extreme.  But the importance of knowing just how distorted this brand of christianity is stems not only from our ability to write it off where it is concentrated.  For example.. in the places to which we’ve exported it at the great expense of peoples’ livelihood and development…

It is equally important to recognize the cancer in its smaller, sneakier forms.

Sure, the most of us don’t buy the notion that the Lord is going to “buy me a Cadillac” or what have you.. but the subtle battle of divine expectations is constant and heavy.  For many of us, the experience of a life “in Christ” has been something dramatically different than advertised: Our jobs still get pulled out from beneath our feet, our relationships are still compromised by the worst parts of our nature, our children still die from genetic disorders they were born with and suffer from for no fault of their own… the happenings and circumstances of our lives often remain much the same if not exactly the same in life “with God” as life “without Him” which can lead one to wonder just how much of a difference there is between the two.

NOTHING in all of scripture, much less the long, difficult history of God’s people in relationship with Him proposes that He removes from us these daily burdens.  In fact, among Joy, Gentleness, Peace and the lot, Longsuffering is listed as a fruit of God’s spirit in the lives of those who follow Jesus.

Furthermore, I might even suggest that while Joy and Peace are characteristics one would expect from a person indwelt with the heart of Jesus, Longsuffering is where the rubber meets the road.  When things are brutal.. when dreams and expectations fail… when God disappoints… do I still call God “good”?  When what is “good” to God seems “evil” to me; when God’s hand does not move to alleviate suffering and bring light where darkness has claimed preeminence.. can I submit my will to His and say “not my will, but yours.. not my idea of good but Yours; though it confounds and perplexes and even angers me… You are King and I will trust You despite myself.”

So, while I don’t always click with John Piper, I couldn’t agree more with him in this:

One year ago today I was on my way, along with my wife and several other Compassion International peeps, to Kenya and Uganda.

Once we did land in Kenya, I found that my little joke about Nashville being hotter than Africa was, in fact, accurate.  Weather in Nairobi, Kenya was hovering between the 70s and 80′s; it was quite refreshing.  In fact, my whole experience of Kenya was refreshing in every way.  Amy and I met Zablon; a young man we’ve been sponsoring for over a decade now.  We’d exchanged letters for years and had become family.  The pictures had led us to believe that he was going to be much taller than he was.  I must honestly confess that I was pleased to learn that this was not the case..

That’s right, I TOWER over my sponsored child.  Woot.

With about twenty other Compassion advocates, we journeyed to Uganda to visit several of the projects in that devastated nation.  Time and time again, I saw faces like these:

(Amy had the time of her life dancing and singing with this choir of young ladies.)

…and it was only a few days after I returned home that it struck me.. why these images and these smiles were so powerful; so life-altering.  The devastation of Uganda after years of war, oppression and political corruption was not present in these faces; what we saw in them was the confidence of hopeful and loved children whose future had been re-written; this is what the Resurrection looks like in everyday life.  This is why I love Compassion as both a sponsor and an advocate.

Consider sponsoring a child with Compassion International here.