Christianity has become so much more alive since being on this trip. Don't get me wrong, I have seen the living and breathing Church so much in the last few years, but there is just something about seeing people all around the world worshiping the same Jesus that I do back in Houston that always seems to bring something new to the table.
I think that's one of the reasons why I love traveling so much; I love meeting new people and experiencing new cultures but also being able to see that no matter where you go, people are still so much the same. For instance; In every culture, I have seen people laugh when one of our friends trips and falls, I have seen tears when people talk about their insecurities, I have seen people captivated when they see beauty, I have seen people celebrate by singing, and I have seen people talk with passion in their eyes. It's kind of cool when you think about it, that no matter what language we speak or what kind of environment we have grown up in, that people are still so much the same at the core.
But one thing I also see consistently in every culture is people trying to fill themselves up with things of this world. In every country I go to I see teenage girls that change themselves for the approval of a guy, I see men that are slaves to lust, I see money as an idol, I see people that are never content with what they have or the way that they look.
I guess that is one way Christianity has become so much more alive; seeing this basic Truth that nothing in this world will ever satisfy us. Nothing in Europe, nothing in America, nothing in Thailand, nothing in Nicaragua, and nothing in Africa will every satisfy like Christ. Nothing. Christians and non-Christians alike; nobody in all the Earth has found lasting satisfaction in something the world has to offer.
Even beyond that, from the beginning of creation humans have been trying to do this, and there still has yet to be any person who was truly fulfilled by the things the world values as important. So not only has nobody in all of the Earth today not found anything to sustain us like God, but nobody who has ever even been alive in the world has found any lasting treasure here.
Woah.
Kind of a relief though, isn't it?
“And this world is fading away along with everything it craves.”
-1 John 2:17
