Field of Dreams: Peace they lack

As I began to write this series on the movie "Field of Dreams", I never realized the journey I would go on. Much of what I have written has been born out of my personal journey. The heartache of failure, missed opportunities, and friendships that have let me down. Nothing truly prepared me for this journey of redemption.

When you say yes to following something or someone, it always seems to produce in you a loyalty and energy that cannot be derailed. Over time the fire begins to fizzle and you lose heart, at least until something or someone else comes along with the newest and greatest.
We all find ourselves with a longing to belong. A dire need to be a part of something greater than ourselves. Where it gets hard however, is when we realize that thing that we have devoted our lives to, is actually greater than ourselves. We feel overwhelmed and out of control, and we lose heart. Resigned to the fact that greatness has escaped us once more, we put our head down and drudge through life lacking purpose and hope. Looking at every new opportunity through our cynical lens and casting pessimism on anyone who thinks they've found it.
How did this happen? How did we grow for so many years and only progress so little? All is lost.....Right?
As I started the greatest journey of my life, I realized the next greatest thing. Someone or something, had been waiting patiently with His arms wide open. No condemnation, no judgement, no settling for second best, but unconditional love. No strings attached, no effort given to earn it, just freedom.
As a believer in Jesus Christ and the "Good News", I am astonished at how far away I stayed from the truth of the Messiah or what a Savior really meant in my life. Late in my teens, I had said yes to Jesus, and heaven everlasting was my reward. I've done it, I've called upon the name of the Lord, and now I'm saved from the perils of Hell. But did I really believe Jesus wanted more?
I didn't do anything, except say "Yes" when He called my name. On the sound of the breeze He whispered, "Brad....If you build it He will come."
I stepped back with a certain awe and wonder. Could He really be talking to me? What should I do? Why would He speak to me? Doesn't He know the failure I am? Doesn't He know how far away from Him I have fallen? Doesn't He know my past? Isn't He Holy, and pure? Why should He defile His Kingdom with the likes of me?
By all rights as creator God, He could have commanded anything, but with a gentle whisper He said, "If you trust me with everything, I will take care of everything."
Jesus didn't want my feet just inside the protection of heaven, He wanted me to love Him with an unconditional surrender, so that He may give me life.
Soon after saying "yes" to Jesus, those who were the closest to me, became my adversary. Why would they not just love me? Why do they have to oppress me with their judgement? I couldn't see how scared they were.
Change always bring discomfort on those who travel in your comfort zone, because their comfort zone is changed. They can't understand and continue to ridicule. They even attack those who support you because they are scared those people are leading astray. They even begin to think you've brainwashed your kids to believe your lies. It broke my heart. He loves me, but they reject me. Fear is so powerful, it will destroy you if you let it.
Then I heard God whisper gently again, "Ease his pain." What I realized was He said, "This call is not just for you, there are others who lack hope."
So with wide eyes I began to search. What's funny is, He never asked me to do the searching.
Full of confusion and grief, I began to question if I'd been asked to do anything.
Ready to walk away from it all because of the constant rejection and condemnation from others, He whispered again,....."Go the distance." "Don't give up. It's going to get real hard. You're going to have to walk through the fire if you want to be really useful."
Along the way I met many who are on the same journey. Suddenly, I didn't feel so alone. Suddenly, there was hope. Suddenly there were others who found the courage to listen because of me. Really? What did I do?
Oswald Chambers writes in My Utmost for His Highest, that a true Saint will be completely unaware of how God is using them to change the lives of those around them.
In February of 2014 my family was commissioned by Greater Europe Mission to be missionaries to Europe and bring the "Good News" to all the peoples there.
How did this happen? We applied, but my past should have disqualified me, right? What does God want me to do now?

"People will come"

I have taken some liberties with the famous speech by Terence Mann who was portrayed by James Earl Jones, but I think this is the crux of the whole movie for me:

People will come. They'll come to you for reasons they can't even fathom. They'll turn up to hear the message not knowing for sure why they're doing it. They'll walk up to you as innocent as children, longing for peace. Of course, we won't mind if join our story, you'll say. It's only $30 per month. They'll pass over the money without even thinking about it: for it is money they have and peace they lack. And they'll walk out to the Kingdom; sit in shirtsleeves on a perfect afternoon. They'll find they have a reserved blanket somewhere along one of the riverbanks, where they sat when they were children and dreamed of their heroes. And they'll feel the love of Christ and it'll be as if they dipped themselves in magic waters. The memories will be so thick they'll have to brush them away from their faces. People will come. The one constant through all the years, has been Jesus. Humanity has rolled by like an army of steamrollers. It has been erased like a blackboard, rebuilt and erased again. But Jesus has marked the time. His Kingdom, His love: it's a part of our past. It reminds us of all that once was good and it could be again. Oh... people will come. People will most definitely come.

Listen closely to the whispers of redemption. God's bigger story. Eden reborn. The Kingdom of God.
Once we understand the importance of standing firm on the decisions we've made, we become galvanized to expect the unexpected. We become determined to never give up.
Archie Graham had gotten his wish of playing against big league pitchers, but now his true calling comes to life when Ray's daughter falls and begins to choke. He rescues Ray's little girl.
Through the tragedy of her injury, Ray's wife's family finally sees the supernatural, and realizes how wrong they were. They become determined as well.
Once they saw the miracle, they become determined to find the means to support any way necessary.
But more often then not, families never make it this far. Many never support the call of God that you feel so convicted to follow.
Henri Nouwen writes in his book "Making All Things New":

"To set our hearts on the Kingdom therefore means to make the life of the Spirit within and among us the center of all we think, say, or do."

He then goes on in another book, "A Spirituality of Fundraising", that fundraising is a very concrete way to help the Kingdom of God come about. The Kingdom of God is where He provides for all that we need. It is the realm of sufficiency where we are no longer pulled here and there by anxiety about having enough. Even a seemingly small act of generosity can grow into something far beyond what we could ever ask or imagine.
When you welcome people into this realm of the Kingdom, in a sense, you are giving them the very thing Terence Mann was talking about. "For money they have, and peace they lack."
The Kingdom of God is a collaborative effort of those doing the work, those seeking to be a part, and those supporting out of there God given resources.
Nouwen says, if we raise funds for the creation of a community of love, we are helping God build the Kingdom.
The call to follow God through His whispers has never been about us, it's always been about others. Submitting ourselves in such a way that we become useful for the Kingdom. Note: I didn't say make ourselves useful, but surrendering to our creator so that out of our humility we become a conquering warrior.

"But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” Acts 1:8

"People will come....."