What do you think of Europeans? What stereotypes do you possess: anti-American, pessimistic, do not bathe regularly, fast cars, good wine, you fill in the blanks…?  The reason I ask is that from April 22-29, I had the pleasure of traveling to Switzerland, Germany, and France for the first time.  This trip was decidedly for vacation purposes (in my last column on March 15-16 I wrote about my missions trip to Jamaica in February, decidedly NOT a vacation).  Now less you think I am overpaid, I had accrued enough air miles to obtain a free plane ticket and had friends to stay with in Zurich, and Kandern, Germany.  I embarked upon this vacation to fulfill a promise to visit our family friends who are missionaries in Germany.  Of course, it did not hurt that I love to travel, and am of German, Swiss, and French heritage, but I digress.

I must confess that this sojourn was a bit of an education for me. In particular, I was reminded of two truths.  Truth #1: Stereotypes are dangerous. Each human being, each country is different and unique. You cannot lump all Europeans into one big group.  Even though close in proximity, each country has its own ethos and culture. Just because Germany and France share a huge border, does not mean they share identical values.  Indeed Europeans can be as diverse as Americans from New York, Houston, Chicago, or Los Angeles are.  That was a little eye opening for me because these countries are relatively small and geographically compressed together. Why aren’t they more alike?

For example, the Swiss caught me off guard. They were an anomaly for me. Everything I encountered was clean, efficient, and precise.  I did not find a piece of trash or paper on the ground anywhere.  They had concrete indentations in the sidewalks to lead blind people right up to the trolley or train.  But I was also surprised to see billboards indicating a strong, nationalistic movement.  In recent years the far-right People’s Party has made significant gains within the government.  Their platform is hostile to immigration (strongly anti-foreigner) and against joining the European Union.  And the Swiss, the famously neutral Swiss—who are home to the 2^nd largest United Nations office, the World Health Organization, and the International Red Cross—have recently spent over 9 billion Swiss Francs a year (20% of the national budget) on its Army! Again, it just goes to show that stereotypes are dangerous: each country is diverse and special in their own way. 

Yet my trip reminded me of a second truth: human beings, at their core, are all the same.  Of course I have known this to be biblically and theologically true for a long time.  The Bible teaches that all human beings are made in God’s image, tainted and affected by the bondage of sin (if you don’t believe that, turn on the nightly news), and finally, we long to connect to the divine. Human beings have a natural desire to worship and serve a higher being.  They are designed and wired by their Creator to do so. 

One of the highlights of my trip was attending a worship service at a Protestant German church named FEG Rebland (www.feg-rebland.de/) which stands for Free Evangelical Community Vineyard. Here exists a dynamic and vibrant community of faith in a country where it is estimated that less than 10% of people attend church.    During the first half of the service, we worshipped in song: there was one song in English and the rest in German.  Then tears came to my eyes as I recognized the melody of one song I have sung many times in English by the British songwriter Tim Hughes: “Here I am to worship, Here I am to bow down, Here I am to say that you’re my God, You’re altogether lovely, Altogether worthy, Altogether wonderful to me.”  Here I was praising God with hundreds of Germans.  They sang in German, I in English.  But there were no walls between us, as we focused our collective attention and devotion onto the God who created us, died for us, and united us.  It was a moment of clarity and power.  We have a difference of language, longitude & latitude, and even lifestyle. But we are not so different after all!

I love Europe! From April 22-29 I visited Switzerland (Zurich and Basel), Germany (Kandern, Badenweiler) and France (Riquewihr and Colmar). I have friends who live in Zurich and Kandern, Germany so I stayed with them.  My friend Tom Haugen is the associate pastor of the International Protestant Church in Zurich. http://www.ipc-zurich.org/   He and I went to seminary together. My friends Chris and Chrissy, whom I met in Colorado teach at Black Forest Academy, a school for missionary kids.  http://www.bfacademy.com/

Europe is cool. The pace of life is slower, it is beautiful, the food rocks! My highlight was when on Friday April 25 I had breakfast in Germany (eggs and toast) lunch in France (cheese and baguette) and dinner in Switzerland (bratwurst). I also visited a Willowcreek and Mosaic chruch.  http://www.feg-rebland.de/

The night before I left we visted Badenweiler which has awesome hot springs both indoors and outdoors in pools and hot tubs.  So much fun!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Badenweiler

http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/280120/badenweiler_germany_an_astounding_place.html?cat=16

In February I took my first trip (of hopefully many) to Jamaica.  However I did not travel to Montego Bay to frolic in the Caribbean waters or roast my pasty body under the blazing sun or devour large quantities of jerk chicken.  Although I am not opposed to such leisure activities as time, pocketbook and life permits, that was not the purpose of my journey.  My mission was to meet with Jamaican pastors who are affiliated with our denomination, build relationships, assess their physical and spiritual needs, and explore how our church might strategically partner with them to do God’s work in their country.  Of course it does not hurt that IT IS Jamaica: fantastic people, food, climate, and pace of life.  But our church is relatively new to sending international short-term mission teams and Jamaica is geographically close, relatively affordable, English is the official language, and our Jamaican churches have a solid infrastructure in place to accommodate the needs of an American church team.                    

If you have never visited Jamaica, it is a place of great material and spiritual need. The average Jamaican earns 10 American dollars a day.  This number is starkly highlighted by the fact that I am writing this article as I sit in Starbucks and consume a $4 coffee beverage (I know, I should feel more guilt than I do!). The Jamaicans I interacted with observed that the unemployment rate was as high as 70-80% (an unofficial number).  They asserted that the major problems facing Jamaica is alcohol and drug addiction, violent gang crime, and child abuse. Obviously, most tourists miss this side of Jamaica as they play in the sun and surf at Sandals resort.            

Now I am not a neophyte to international travel.  I have had the honor and privilege of  visiting 15 countries in the Caribbean, Africa, Asia and Europe.  I have witnessed worse poverty in India and Nigeria than Jamaica.  But the thing that always gets me is that people in other countries seem to have more JOY.  They might own less materially and financially speaking, but they appear to value relationships more than we do here in the United States.  I know what I am saying is in danger of lapsing into cliché, but here in America we are prosperous in our resources.  But I find this to be more of a curse than a blessing.  Because we use our resources to mask and avoid our spiritual need.  If we have enough things, we don’t need God.  Our widgets and gadgets keep us preoccupied and entertained.  But they can easily divert our attention from the most important matters in life.            

I don’t find people in other countries facing this same challenge.  They are less materialistic, more open and transparent.  They have time for relationships.  They make time for God (evidenced by their three hours plus worship services).  They have a vibrant and passionate faith.  This is one of the major reasons I love international travel: it reminds me that the way I live is in the minority compared to the rest of the globe.  Travel enlarges my horizons, it helps me put THE world and MY world into perspective.  There is a dialogical interchange when I leave our borders: I give something of myself and culture, but I learn so much more in return.  So the Jamaicans have much to teach me regarding God, people and life.             

In spite of all this, I don’t regret the fact that I am an American.  I am not ashamed of my heritage.  After all it was Jesus who said “To whom much is given, much will be expected.”  It is my burden and blessing to use my resources and education to help meet the needs of Jamaicans and the rest of the world.  In that process I will be challenged to grow spiritually…and improve my tan.       

Does God owe you anything? Should you expect certain “things” out of life?  The Declaration of Independence proclaims that some of the “unalienable rights” God has granted to humanity are “Life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.”  I think many of us here in America have interpreted that phrase to mean that we will receive comfort, safety and self-actualization.  In short, many of us think we deserve “the good life,” a life full of fun and pleasure and enjoyment.   

This attitude starkly struck me the other night when I turned on the television and found the movie “Bruce Almighty,” which I had not seen in while.  In the movie, Buffalo TV reporter Bruce Nolan (Jim Carrey) is angry when he is passed over for the anchor job at his station.  In one scene he embarks on a bitter diatribe blaming God for his problems while his girlfriend Grace Connelly, (Jennifer Aniston) attempts to comfort him:

Grace: You know that everything happens for a reason.
Bruce: See, that I don’t need. That is a cliché. That is not helpful to me. “A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush”… I have no bird, I have no bush. God has taken my bird and my bush.

Grace: “Oh, I see. So, so, God is picking on you, is that what you’re saying?”
Bruce: “No, He’s ignoring me completely…”

Grace: “All right. You know? Enough. All right. Will you stop being such a martyr?”
Bruce: “I am not being a martyr. I’m a victim. God is a mean kid sitting on an anthill with a magnifying glass, and I’m the ant. He could fix my life in five minutes if he wanted to, but he’d rather burn off my feelers and watch me squirm!”            

      After I watched that scene, I wondered how many of us (myself included) oftentimes think like Bruce: we blame God when life does not meet our dreams, hopes, and expectations. But maybe God is not the problem… we are the problem! We believe that we deserve the best life has to offer without pain or hardship.  Now you might be saying to yourself, “I don’t think that way!”  But how often when you faced trials, difficulties, or even persecution, have you asked yourself the question “Why me?”  “Why is this happening to me?”   “It’s not fair!”

If we are disappointed at all in life, perhaps we are expecting and seeking after the wrong things. Recently I was personally challenged when I preached a message series on the life of Daniel.  Daniel did all the right things: he obeyed the Old Testament commands and remained pure and loyal to God in spite of the pressures of living and working in a foreign land he had been forcibly deported to.  Yet Daniel’s life kept repeating a cycle: His faith would be tested by a crisis involving possible physical harm or death; he would honor God and risk his life by doing the right thing; then he would be promoted by the king to a higher position of authority and prominence; soon after he would face a greater, more dangerous trial then he had previously.  For someone as faithful and gifted as Daniel, he did not experience the “success” we might imagine he should. But Daniel’s life was not about his own comfort, safety, and self-actualization.  It was not about getting a better job and a bigger house.  He wanted to serve God and make a difference in the world. 

The same is true of all the great people in the Bible: Abraham, Joseph, Moses, Ruth, David, Esther, Jeremiah, Mary (the mother of Jesus), and the Apostle Paul, just to name a few.  These people loved and served God, but experienced hardships, persecution, and suffering.  Were they doing something wrong?  One of my favorite authors, Erwin McManus puts it this way: “…God calls us to give our lives for something greater than ourselves.  The path is thick with mystery, danger, and the unknown…”.

So indeed, your expectations can be dangerous.  If you believe the meaning of life can be boiled down to the possession of freedom and happiness, you might need to adjust your mindset.  Perhaps God wants you to join him on a great adventure, in which you risk and sacrifice your life towards a greater purpose.  And therein, you will discover true liberty and fulfillment.  I can’t imagine a better way to live!        

        Rene’ Dubos, the famous French-American microbiologist, pathologist, environmentalist, and PulitzerPrize-winning author once stated “Human diversity makes tolerance more than a virtue; it makes it a requirement for survival.”   

            I could not disagree more. Tolerance is not a virtue.  Perhaps you are thinking “Did he really just say that?” Yes I did. In fact if your blood pressure is precipitously rising, chances are you have heard me correctly.  But my statement regarding tolerance is an indisputable fact.  In his Republic, Plato lists four cardinal virtues: prudence, temperance, fortitude, and justice. Great theologians such as Saint Ambrose, Augustine, and Thomas Aquinas lauded and advocated these virtues in later years.  Nonetheless, technically, tolerance is not a virtue.

            But morally speaking, is tolerance a virtue?  I don’t think so, and frankly, neither does the Bible.  Merriam-Webster.com defines tolerance as “sympathy or indulgence for beliefs or practices differing or conflicting with one’s own; the act of allowing something.” To many people the word tolerance connotes that we “put up with” other people, that “we grin and bear it” in our attitude and treatment of others.  However, does God want us to simply demonstrate rote sympathy, indulgence and allowance towards other people’s genuine thoughts, actions and speech?  Do we exist merely to “survive” one another?

            First off, tolerating people (in my humble experience and observation) does not engage them.  How can you positively interact with a person when you are just putting up with him or her?  Tolerance seems like a “me” centered and passive approach to relationships. You let people do their thing while you do yours.  Everything is cool if people that disagree can just steer clear of one another.  However, the ultimate problem with tolerance is this: it will not suffice because Jesus showed us a better way.

            In Mark 12:30-31 Jesus commands his followers to “…love the Lord God with all your passion and prayer and intelligence and energy.’ And here is the second: ‘Love others as well as you love yourself.’ There is no other commandment that ranks with these” (Bible, The Message version).   Notice the singular “commandment.” Jesus is arguing that you prove your love for God by loving the people around you.  The word used here for “love” is the word agape.  This is an “other” centered love; it means to “love someone more than one’s own life.”  Agape originated with and was first demonstrated by God himself. It is God’s love revealed to the world through the sacrifice of his son, Jesus Christ on the cross.  We are talking about the radical, unconditional love that God has shown us in Christ!  This is the love where God says “You are mine and I love you” regardless of all the trash in your life that you hide in the dark crevices of the soul. 

            Therefore to truly love someone, that is, love expressed in its highest form, is to love that person with God’s love, to care for that person more than you would your own life. It is putting their interests and their welfare ahead of your own.  Tolerance allows for the existence of, but agape searches after and embraces.  Tolerance permits, but love accepts. That is hardcore. That is intense. That is revolutionary!  So as you can see, tolerance is setting the bar way too low and settling for less than God’s best. 

            At the end of the day, the greatest thing about agape love is that it transforms us.  It initially accepts us as we are, but it never leaves us in the same state we were prior to being touched by it.  Once you have experienced God’s unconditional love for you, expressed in the person of Jesus Christ and through the lives of agape committed Christ-followers, you will be changed. Because once you know you are loved in spite of all your flaws and shortcomings, you are empowered to shed them and grow to become the person Jesus Christ dreams of you to be and desires you to be.  God’s love frees you to become the best you, the real you.     

            And you should not tolerate anything less!

Here I am blogging for the first time!  So much fun…It is pouring rain out and a friday….I will post more later….

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