Crossing Borders

When I cross the border into a foreign country, I'm taking a step into the unknown. The people have different traditions, customs, languages, infrastructures, and food. They make decisions differently than I do, value things I don't, and aren't concerned with my sorts of concerns. Learning to establish a business, draw up a rental agreement, or installing a telephone into my home might take months. There are all sorts of things that I take for granted in my own culture that's never gonna get any attention in a foreign one. Traveling in foreign lands requires a certain type of faith or trust in a positive outcome regardless of the circumstances.

The first time I flew to a foreign country was in 1996. I traveled to South Africa for a summer. I remember looking out of the window in the airplane after the landing. I thought to myself, "What the heck am I doing here?" For a moment, I was terrified. What in the world had I done? I left everything that felt right and comfortable. Of course, I had to get off the plane. The next thing I knew, I was in Durban, South Africa. That summer was a life changing experience which led to further travels over the years.

Traveling to foreign countries involves a certain growth in faith that builds upon each experience. The more one travels, the more this certain type of faith or trust in a positive outcome develops. Certainly, there are times when a traveler feels uncomfortable in a new situation, but overall they become more relaxed, more calm, and more rational in their decision making. Choosing a house to rent, buying food in the market, or choosing which type of transportation to use becomes a little bit easier each time, even when in a new country.

Trusting God is like traveling to a foreign country. His customs, traditions, and rules aren't like ours. He's peculiar and often seem too good to be true. "I love you without reservation, " He says. All of His compassion and comfort seem to be mixed with uncertain circumstances that I have no control over. There's people in this land that don't act according to His rules. I can't seem to identify their customs, traditions, or language. The only thing I know for certain is God's good nature.*

Learning to trust God can be terrifying at first. We're traveling into a foreign land and let go of anything that feels familiar. His priorities don't seem to be our priorities. Our priorities don't seem to be His. Status, power, and our appearance before others seems to be a currency of little value. Doing things in good faith and believing the best in others seems to be some of the highest commodities.

It's a culture that is unlike any other. God's country requires a step by step trust in a place of circumstances that don't make sense at first. Over time however, just like in our foreign travels, we learn how things operate in God's country. We learn the rules, customs, and traditions. Deeper than that, we begin to feel more comfortable with the type of decision making and value judgements that God seems to have. We begin to realize that we have forgotten the old ways over time. We also begin to realize it was God all along who was changing us, as we focused less and less on the circumstances and more and more on letting Him manage them for us.

*Sometimes we confuse God for not having a good nature when it is other people who violate His rules of love, acceptance, and fair play. This is defect in our own thinking.