What I'm Learning In South Sudan...

It’s been crazy what I’m learning here in South Sudan. God’s really been teaching me what it’s like to walk through the day with him. It’s definitely about sharing Jesus with people, and that’s what it’s so about, but i’m really learning that it’s less about evangelizing and more about walking with God throughout the day. If I think about it as evangelizing then it sounds like a chore. It sounds like something that I have to do. Sounds like something that If i do it then i’m a better christian or some crap like that. When I look at it like my life is an everyday walk with Jesus then it’s a relationship. It’s something that fruit will come out of because when you’re focusing on Jesus you will see fruit. It’s not a chore, it’s a relationship. It’s not a requirement, it’s a product. It’s not something I have to do, it’s something I want to do. It’s so crazy to see the way God’s changed me since i’ve been out here. What’s even crazier is that although I’ve been changed in a number of ways…i’m still me. I’m still Josh. I’m still the one who thinks will farrell is hilarious. I still quote anchorman all the time. I will still laugh everytime I hear one of his quotes. I’m still the Josh that will joke around with you. I’m not changing my personality or my character. What i am changing is the way that I look at other people. That’s what loving Jesus is about. It’s not about conforming to a mold of what a ”christian should look like.” It’s not about fitting a certain standard or voting republican. It’s not about selling everything you have to go do something you hate. It’s about loving Jesus and letting Jesus love other people through you. It’s about walking with Jesus through the passions you have in life. Passions are not bad, in fact God gave each of us passions like crazy because he loves us so much he wanted to make us unique. He gave us skills because he designed us and want us to be unique. It’s crazy how God made each of us specific to us. It’s crazy how walking with Jesus doesn’t mean changing that…it means running with that in a way that was never before imagined. So good! God is so good. God is so freaking good! I love that i’m really learning what it means to be a christian and to tell other people about Jesus. This isn’t oxiclean. I’m not trying to sell you something. I’m not trying to give you something that i’m saying you need because your life isn’t as good without it…I’m simply telling you of someone who really cares about you and wants friendship with you. I’m simply saying that the one who created you actually wants a relationship with you. The one who made each of us…with our skills…wants us to know him personally. The one that designed musical abilities in us…the one that designed us to be good with money…the one that designed us to be good with computers…the one that made us good with sports…that’s the one that wants to have relationship with us. it isn’t about giving up what we love to follow Jesus…it’s about loving the one who gave us those passions. So good. God is so good. And God loves each and every one of you so freaking much. God wants nothing more than a relationship with you. He doesn’t want you to come to him so he can condemn you. he doesn’t want you to come to him so he can say you do wrong things. Jesus didn’t die so we wouldn’t go to hell…Jesus would die so we could have relationship with him. So good. So freaking good. God is so freaking good. I am blown away by this. I am blown away that the one who made us actually wants us for relationship and not for a power trip. Always remember that. You are loved. You are legitimately and genuinely loved. You have a purpose and that doesn’t mean you have to come to God so you can sell everything you have to move to the middle of no where and do something you hate. That’s not God. He’s not a God of obligation, but of relationship. Seek after him and you will find him. Pursue relationship and he will grow with you. Never forget that.