Wherever God puts me, I’m all in.

The seed for my desire to live internationally was planted when I was quite young. My parents regularly hosted missionaries in our home, and I listened spell-bound to their conversations. What captivated my attention and heart was less the dramatic tales that left me feeling like “I could never” and more the everyday Christianity, the quiet, sometimes scrappy faithfulness lived joyfully in another country. I heard of the textured needs all over the world; I wanted to go.

Had my parents lived differently, the desire could have shriveled in the sun. But they made living for Jesus the highest calling and prioritized values that smoothed the way for solid living anywhere:

1. Work hard. Difficulty alone is not a reason to stop.
2. Eat food gratefully, with enjoyment as a usual but disposable bonus.
3. Let stuff be just stuff. Enjoy it. Don’t live for it.
4. Don’t take yourself too seriously.
5. Love people.
6. Remember: Jesus is King, heaven is home. This drives everything.

These values and a strong burden for international needs also drove Joel, and God used this to bring us together. We lived 8 years in the Philippines before we moved to Alberta, Canada 5 years ago. Our memories are priceless, and we wouldn’t change a thing.

But should Christians assume the need to live internationally? Are the only true needs the ones far away? Do we find most compelling what we least truly know? The longer you live somewhere, the more you see how unfinished is the work. This is true the world over. To not see the needs is only to admit that you do not know the place. It is a forgivable ignorance, an understandable limitation; but it is decidedly both.
Is proximity a true assessment of need? Does understanding the need end up being the rather elitist position of those well-traveled? No. Take God’s Word for it: “Lift up your eyes, and see that the fields are white for harvest.”

Each believer is commanded to diligently, prayerfully be the witness for Christ where he lives. While all may not need to go far, all should be willing! God gifts people differently. Some are made to fortify and strengthen existing ministries; others have the energy and vision to take on new ministries, bolster struggling ones, or expand ministry.

Because we as Christians are primarily citizens of heaven, our rootedness to any country of this world ought to be quite disposable. This is not to express a lack of appreciation for place; it certainly is to say that we should not make a preference for constancy or comfort be the reason we say no to greater needs.

This world is going to go up in smoke, flags and all. People will in fact live somewhere forever, of all languages and countries and eras. We have only now to share and live for Christ. Not a flag. Home is heaven. Wherever God puts me till I see Him, I am all in.