Where do I live?



gazebo outside my house

My home in Western North Carolina is the beautiful waiting room God has given me. It is beautiful, peaceful, and away from the crazy inside the beltway political thinking of D.C.

I have been thinking of it as a wonderful place to wait while God prepares us to return to Suriname. When we moved back to the US 11 years ago, I left my heart in Suriname with the Hindustani people. In my heart, Suriname, not the US, is my home. The sound of rain on a tin roof, the smells of curry and hot pepper, the sweet taste of mango fresh from my neighbor's tree (she said we could have anything that hung over into our yard), the musical sounds of many languages comingling on any given day... The ache is still very real. But my mountain home is a gorgeous place to wait.

This waiting room in Western North Carolina is also my place to wait for my real home. My true citizenship is in heaven. The world is my mission field. My mission is to see God's kingdom come, His will be done on earth as it is in heaven. And my mission is to be accomplished in the same way that Jesus accomplished his mission. My job is to love others into the kingdom.

A good friend of mine posted this on Facebook. "I don't mind people disagreeing with the President, but please do not resort to name calling...this is for my Bible-believing FB friends, "The authorities that exist have been established by God. Consequently, whoever rebels against the authority is rebelling against what God has instituted, and those who do so will bring judgment on themselves." Romans 13:1-2

More than fear of judgment, my fear is that we lose our ability to share Christ with those of differing political views when we call names. Our president, the Congress, Democrats, Republicans- these are not my enemies. These are people created in the image of our Creator. No one ever came to Christ because they or the people they care about were first belittled by those who carry Christ's name.

The places in the world where Christianity is growing the fastest are the places where it is forbidden. I doubt seriously that Christians in Muslim countries spend a lot of energy calling names. They are busy calling on the One Name.

I need to be busy with kingdom work. When I am busy loving others, I don't have time to call names.

This morning I am grateful that my straight crooked path has led to this mountain waiting place. And I am praying for my friends in the D.C. area who have to fight harder than I do against the temptation to try to advance the kingdom of God in a way that is counter to the model Jesus has given us.