It's all just a gamble

Since Teddy and I have come to Korea, we have noticed that everything is different from what we are used to. The language, the food, the way we wash our clothes, the beds, the music, the bathroom, even the hobbies. Everyday we encounter some new experience and sometimes look like idiots when we are trying to act like we know what we are doing, when in fact we don't and we just can't blend in. However in one area we have been rather successful, until tonight.

There are many food options here in Korea. You can have kimchi,galbi,kimbap,bulgogi,squid, octopus, chicken, beef, cheeseburgers, hotdogs, etc. Teddy and I like to eat Korean food as well as Western food. Our tolerance for spicy food has definetely gone up since we've been here. After a while you just get used to your lips being numb and a fire blazing in your mouth. Everytime we go to a resturaunt we always end up ordering something safe like chicken, quesadillas rice cakes, beef, something we are used to. We look at the menu and, although we can't read it we pick the picture that looks the best to us. We have always been pleased with our selection. However, tonight was a different story. We went into a Korean resturaunt in our town. We looked at the menu on the wall, by the way that's what most resturaunts do here, and we picked something. From the far distance it looked like chicken and noodles so we were pretty confident we had ordered well, like we always do. Twenty minutes later our meal comes out and we notice bean sprouts, some spicy sauce and shrimp right away. So we think "O we picked the shrimp meal" so we start eating, we soon realize there are all types of seafood in our meal. Some Teddy wouldn't even try. There were a couple of big bones on the plate. At first they looked like celery sticks but they were not. We had a lot of fish with eyes, bones and sharp claws sticking out. I wondered if it was all dead. There also looked like some oyster type thing and as weird as it sounds black skin from other sea creatures. It was not the best dinner. After wards we went to a bakery across the road and I got an egg sandwich. I know I'm an Ugly American but as we were walking back to our apartment Teddy said "well it's all just a gamble" and it made think of our life and how this whole Korea experience is a gamble. Even more it made me think of the calling of the disciples.

Peter, James and John owned a fishing business together. They were pretty close to eachother and I'm sure they had heard of Jesus before. One day Jesus was teaching on the shore of Galilee. He climbed into Peter's boat and told him to pull out from the shore so he could teach the large crowd of people. Peter did what he told him to. After Jesus finished preaching He told Peter to go into deeper water and let their nets down for a catch. Peter told Jesus that they had not caught a single fish all night but since He says so they will let down their nets. Many of you all have read the story and know that they caught so many fish that their nets began to break. They filled both boats so full of fish that their boats began to sink as well. When Peter realized that Jesus was making this happen he fell on his knees and told Jesus to leave for he was a sinful man. Jesus told him not to be afraid, from now on he will be a fisher of men. Peter, James and John pulled their boats on to the shore, left everything and followed Him. What I think is so ironic about this story is that Jesus allowed these men to catch more fish than they have probably ever caught in their life right before He called them to leave their occupation. I'm sure they were amazed at how many fish they caught and were thinking they would make a lot of money selling the fish. But to follow Jesus would be a gamble. They did not know what to expect. Would they ever catch this many fish again? Would they ever get paid this much money again? Would they finally be secure in life? What was their life? Was it about catching fish or was it about so much more? What causes the disciples to give up their life, their job, their security to become followers of Jesus. To follow a man who doesn't even have a place to lay his head? How secure is a life of following Jesus anyway? As we read through the scriptures we see the many hardships the disciples face and the persecution they go through. We see the very man they follow be crucified. We see them feeling alone and broken. But we also see the many miraculous signs and wonders. We see Peter walk on water. We see Paul encounter Christ and become such an amazing leader for the early church. The early Christians took a gamble to follow Christ and spread the good news of the Gospel. It seems things are much different now in the world today.

We Christians run to God whenever anything bad happens to us and pray He will make it better. If our internet doesn't work it seems like it's the end of the world. If we aren't comfortable in our day to day life we pray. When was life ever supposed to be comfortable for Christians? Many of the early believers spent their days in prison and being beaten for their faith. If we desire to be like the early church should comfort be an important factor? What if God calls us away from our comfortable life to something better He has planned for us? I must admit when God called Teddy and I to Korea I didn't know how much I would miss the comforts of America. I miss green grass, carpet, comfy mattresses and couches. I miss driving a car. There are just some many comforts in America but God has called me here and just because it's not always comfortable doesn't mean it's bad. I am exactly where I am supposed to be right now and I am content with that. Who wants to worship a God that's ordinary? Our God is powerful and takes us on adventures we could never imagine. Life is really a gamble with God. We don't know what's going to happen but we have to be willing to make that choice to sacrifice comfort for an amazing journey with our wonderful Savior. I'm sure looking back Peter, James and John would have given up anything to follow Christ despite the lack of comfort in it.

So we sit here in our small apartment, eating our weird dinners, sleeping on our hard mattress because we know or at least are learning that our Christian walk isn't about being comfortable or always knowing what's going to happen but it's about trusting God and knowing that it might not always be easy but He promises to never leave us or forsake us and that is the best promise of all.