Buried Treasure

Words. Words are a part of me. They have shaped me. They have helped me process my thoughts. And they often point out places of growth in me.

That being said, I haven't touched a book since school let out, I haven't posted since about then, and I have barely written since then. Why? Business, other things to do, and something I can't put a finger on kept me away. Recently I got a new job that gives me an hour long lunch break. I'm usually done with my food within the first twenty minutes or so. For the first couple weeks I took the time to rest after working all morning. Last week I finally decided to use that time better; I started reading a book. It was refreshing to get back into words again. Ironically, a couple days after starting the book, I accidentally left at a family reunion. Monday I didn't really want to start a new one, but I decided reading was a good thing to do. So I started another book: A Voice in the Wind.

I've read the story countless times and enjoy reading it every time. The past few days have been enjoyable as I've immersed myself in a familiar story and characters I can always relate to, listen to, and learn from. Even though the story is set in ancient Rome, the author Francine Rivers succeeds in bringing truth from the past into the present.

The story up 'til now has been exciting and engaging as always. but this time a character stepped out of the story and showed something to me. Enter Hadassah. Hadassah is a Jewish slave in Rome after the Jerusalem was sacked by Rome. She is a Christian in the midst of a pagan household. She's still a child when she enters the home of the Valerians as a maidservant for their daughter. All through her time there, she struggles to share her faith with anyone around her, worried that they would reject her or worse, send her to the arena. This comes to a head when she's in distress and wonders why she hasn't shared the gospel with a fellow Jew still following Judaism and an Egyptian worshiping idols.

Hadassah is torn about keeping silent and wonders why, realizing, "Because her fear of rejection and persecution kept the truth locked in her heart. The knowledge she had was hidden treasure meant for both of them, and she clung to it, gaining strength from it, but too afraid to give it away."

I read that and it hit me so hard. I am surrounded every day by people like those surrounding Hadassah, and I too keep the treasure in me buried. I draw strength form it, I retreat into it when I'm weary, but I don't bring it out and share it with those around me. I can blame not being told how. I rationalize that those around know about God and Jesus and have their own opinions. And I often don't even think about sharing it with anyone. In the story Hadassah weeps. What do I do? I shrug it off, say I'll do better eventually, and carry as normal.

But how can I? That's what Hadassah asked me. Or more exactly, that's the question Hadassah's words asked me. I claim Jesus is my closest friend, someone I can tell anything to, and is the Lord of my life. Yet do I do what He's asked. Do I even try to tell others about how amazing a friend I have? I don't. I am satisfied to enjoy the blessing He is to me and let others find Him themselves. ...I am ashamed of myself.

In the story Hadassah gradually becomes bolder as she draws upon God's strength to aid her and give her the courage to proclaim His name. !SPOILER!-And at the end of the book she is sent to the arena to face the lions for sharing her faith-!SPOILER! Yet even then she says that it is a blessing, because now she is free of the fear. What more can man do to her? She has been liberated to speak boldly and not be afraid. Hadassah stood up for her Lord, her Jesus. Can I do any less? Can I do any less than share the treasure I hold so tight--so terrified--in my heart?

I believe in the power of story's. It's the reason I'm an author. It's why I read and why I write. I usually end a blog post with some sharp, upbeat saying about how I'm going to practice what I just preached. But this time I'm still scared. I'm still trembling inside. Hadassah was for a while too. I don't know the future. I can't smile and say everything will be alright. It only will be if I reach inside and take out what I've hidden away. Hold out to others what I've grasped so tightly myself. Share what keeps me going when nothing else will. Can I share this Jesus, my Jesus? I have to. I need to.


Joshua Falk

What the Church can Learn from Bikers

I was working with a friend of mine this past week. He's a motorcycle rider and he was talking about an event this weekend that is happening in Baldwin, MI. It's called the Blessing of the Bikes. I don't know too much about bikers or biker culture, and since I didn't know what this blessing was I asked. He told me it was a time with other bikers to meet them, get to know each other, and spend time together. It wasn't a potluck, it wasn't a men's retreat or a women's retreat, it wasn't fellowship night, and it wasn't small group. It was simply a time to meet each other for a single reason...because they all have something in common.

It sounded really cool to me and almost made me wish I had a bike so I could go with them. That made me stop and think. I thought about the church and the many reasons we get together. We get together on Sunday for church. We get together once every week or two for our small groups. We get together once a month or year for a retreat. But rarely do we get together just to get to know each other. Why is that? I'm not sure.

To be fair I've been to a few churches where the people genuinely want to know each other and do get together just to get to know each other. But the majority of people I know who go to church only see a few of the other members of the church regularly and the rest only on Sunday. We as the Church are supposed to be a unified body, the Body of Christ, but we rarely have anything to do with each other outside of church.

So, when I heard about these bikers who want to see each other and get to know each other simply because they share that one thing in common, I wondered why believers aren't the same...

I'll be honest. I fall short on this too. There are plenty of people who believe in Jesus just like me, but I have absolutely no desire to get to know them. It is a failing, and I'm realizing it needs to change in me. That being said, what about the rest of us? What about the many Christians who don't want to get to know others simply because they share one thing in common, a Love for Jesus?

Well, this is one of those posts where I don't have an answer. I know it's not more potlucks or more small groups. Neither can make a person invest in others' lives. I know it's not carrying on the same as always, because we as the Body of Christ need to be a body and not disparate members. I know what it doesn't look like, and I know that when I heard about the Blessing of the Bikes something seemed to spark in the back of my mind. But I don't know what it does look like. I've had words like community and fellowship thrown at me for years, but what that actually means is often not so easily found or stated.

So I'm left wondering what to do. That's usually a good place to turn to God. He's got some pretty good answers. His Word is full of how the Body needs to work. I know we as the Body fail in many places and am so thankful for God's grace when we do, but I want to know how I am to live in such a way that I am part of the Body and am welcoming, encouraging, and lifting up others as part of the Body.

Since God brought this across my radar, I've been wondering what should I do: what does He want me to do. I don't have an answer yet. What I do have is a prayer and an idea. The prayer is that God would unify His church. That He would bring the many disparate members we've become into a cohesive whole based on one thing in common: Him. And my idea is one that's still being thought out. What about a Blessing of the Churches. A time where the churches in an area can meet together for a weekend and meet each other, get to know each other, and maybe spend time together. It is just an idea, and a new one at that. But if you could be praying for me and for that idea I'd really appreciate it. Who knows what God has planned yet. It could be that, or it could be something else entirely. But, whatever it is, I'm excited to see how God uses His Church!


One Body, and I'm a Struggling Praying Member,
Joshua

Glorious Uncertainty

Hello all! I haven't posted in a while. Life has been kind of crazy. I'm engaged! She's the most amazing person and well worth the craziness an engagement, planning for a wedding, and looking forward to the rest of life will bring. Speaking of the rest of life, I am about to graduate college! A handful of days stand between me and walking to receive my diploma. This has been a great place for the past four years, and I will definitely miss it. But with that rapidly falling behind me I'm faced with finding a job, working said job, and providing for a family. All of those are great things, but I've been finding myself more and more stressed, more and more overwhelmed, and more and more mentally frantic trying to figure it all out.

Sound kinda crazy? Well it is. It's led to quite a few sleepless nights and stressed out days. So in the past few weeks I've been doing some searching and praying. I've been asking God if this is how it should be, or if I am doing something wrong. This morning he gave me a very clear answer: I have been doing this very wrong.

To start out with, I have been worrying about getting a job that will make enough money to provide for my rapidly approaching family. Will I make enough to put a roof over our heads, put food on the table, and give us clothes to wear? Will I have time to be a good husband, a good father, and a good friend? Will I have time to pursue my dreams or help others pursue their dreams? ...add those to a myriad of other questions and you can probably start to see how it was shaping up. I thought it was my responsibility to care about these things and be proactive about providing. I was right, but I was so wrong.

I was right, but I was wrong because I started distancing myself from God. I started wondering if God would line things up. Did He really care enough to give me time enough to pursue my dreams? Would He provide a job that would allow me to see my family and be a present father? It was questions like those that I never actively thought, but they were the underlying thoughts--they were what caused me to worry.

So, this morning, I was reading Oswald Chambers and was floored by what he said. In My Utmost for His Highest, Chambers says, "Certainty is the mark of the commonsense life, uncertainty is the mark of the spiritual life." That by itself would have been a little weird and I would have been like, yeah right Chambers, nice words but that doesn't address real life. But it does...

The truth that Chambers talked about was that God Loves us and wants the best for us. That hit me. He cares about me. Honestly, truly cares about me. He doesn't want me going hungry or needing clothing. And the best part is that he has my future planned already. He's already laid out my steps; I just have to follow His lead.

This felt like a burden was taken off my back. God is not going to sit back and say, "Alright, your turn. Go find a job and something useful to do with your life." He's already leading me where He wants me. He's already lining opportunities up and preparing the way before me. And, even if I don't get a good job or I keep searching without success, He still has a plan, and He still is going before me. When I'm stressed out and at the end of my rope from trying to plan out the next few steps of my life, God is standing next to me on an already laid out path with a welcoming hand, saying, "Here, stop trying to make your way and instead follow mine."

It takes faith. It takes trusting God completely. And, too be honest, that's scary. If I'm honest, I know I'm still not there. But I'm working toward it. I'm choosing to trust Him with the next few steps. He already has it planned and me trying to plan and make it work will only make me exhausted and useless. So it's time. Time to step out on the water. Not looking down or looking around. A life of faith is just that, one step at a time. He's got, I know He Loves me, and I trust Him with my next steps.


Stepping Out Upon the Water,
Joshua