We feel we are right where God wants us to be. I am loving the work I’m doing. I love the people I work with. Sam and I both love the town. We’ve got great friends and family nearby. We are, as they say, living the dream. Life’s great.
And yet in six months we are going to leave it all behind and begin our journey to Mozambique. Come September we will pack all our earthly belongings into boxes, that which we will need in Africa will be put aside, that which we won’t need will be put into storage somewhere here. We will stay in Perth for about 6 months as we do some final preparation and then it’s off to Africa, off to a new life, off to a new job, off to a new group of friends, off to an unknown world.
Are we crazy?
I think we are, and to cement that craziness into place we will be traveling to Africa with a, then, two year old, and a six month old (Sam’s due in September). Not only that but to make us seem even more crazy, we are doing all this because of our strong belief that this is, for us, being obedient to God. Now if that’s not crazy then I don’t know what is.
Now, sometimes this craziness can overwhelm us, and we often think to ourselves, “What the heck are we doing, are we mad?” and the answer to the last part of the question is yes, we are mad. We are crazy, but do you know what gives me comfort? God loves crazy people, and what is even more bizarre, is that God uses crazy people, and he in fact encourages crazy behaviour.
Sam and I, and many other present day crazy people, are not alone. We stand on the shoulders of crazy giants who have gone before us. The Bible is full of crazy people, what a comfort that is.
Noah was crazy. God told him to build a giant boat, fill it with a mating pair of every species of animal that roamed the earth, and wait for a world wide flood. And he did, everyone thought he was mad. He was and yet God encouraged the madness.
Abraham was crazy. God told him to leave his country and his family and go into a land that God would tell him about later. God also told him that he would be the father of a great nation (even though he had no children and his wife was barren), and he and his family would bless the whole world. And he did, and everyone thought he was mad. He was and yet God encouraged the madness.
Mary was crazy. God told her that she would give birth to a child by the Holy Spirit, and this child would be the saviour King of the universe. Imagine what people would have thought of her as she told them about this baby in her womb; madness. and yet she did deliver this baby into the world.
Jesus was crazy, at least that is what his siblings thought when told them about himself and what he was going to do. Some people even thought he was in cahoots with the devil.
Paul was crazy. Here was a man that had everything; Roman citizenship, Jewish heritage to the max, a good job high up the Jewish religious ladder. But then Jesus visits him in a vision, and his life turns around. He becomes a fool for Christ. He gives up all he has just to boast in Jesus and nothing else. Everyone thought he was crazy and he was. And yet God encouraged his madness.
Crazy people we are not alone. The Bible is full of crazy people who were obedient to God’s call to be crazy. Take comfort in that fact.
People who are not yet crazy, why not try giving crazy ago. You might surprise yourself, craziness may be the very thing your life is lacking.
And remember God loves and uses crazy people.
Ben Good 