Times In My Life When Courage Was Required

Cambodia’s Killing Fields was the greatest social justice cause of my generation. When the call went out to help the hundreds of thousands of Khmer refugees pouring into Thailand, I was ready to go.

Some might say that decision took courage, but the tragedy of genocide was so compelling, I couldn’t say no. It didn’t matter that I was 21 and leaving behind a woman whom I’d marry in less than a year, something had to be done.

The refugees we served in the Prasat refugee camp needed so much, but the first thing they needed was food and shelter. We helped put them back on their feet economically by setting them up in business as pig and chicken farmers.

And so, after graduating, off I went to Indonesia and then the Dominican Republic to start microenterprise organizations that would contextualize those same economic development principles.

But I had to ask, “After these people have grown their companies and created new jobs, so what? Was this God’s point or is there more?”

I sensed that there must be something more. And it was then that God showed me that he cared enough to speak. I’d always heard that Christians are supposed to have a personal relationship with Christ, but my relationship never felt personal. I wanted more than stale religion – I wanted something that I would be prepared to die for.

God speaking to me and saying he loved me changed everything. It changed me at my core – it changed my identity and purpose.

I was thrilled to see that the name of Jesus really does have power. I experienced the reality of prayer – its power to connect man to God’s presence, voice and direction. And in that connection, I learned, is the answer to every other social justice issue of life.

Every refugee needs a home and a job, but without Jesus at the center, a Christian’s social programs are hollow.

Years later when I was leading a team of 900 young people to help the most HIV-infected country in the world, I was asking the Lord for his direction. God reminded me of what he’d shown me years earlier. “Woe to me if I don’t preach the gospel.”

We were partnering with a governmental organization and we were told to not share our faith as we taught in schools around the country. But we were there because of our faith and we owed the young people we were talking to an honest conversation about where they could find hope in the midst of so much despair and death.

As I stood before our volunteers, this is what I shared. And as they went out, they did so with renewed faith.

Sometimes life gets distilled down the core things you believe. And it’s then that you have to take action that requires your courage. I’m so thankful that I’ve had these moments in my life where I had to make tough choices. As I reflect, it’s the moments where I acted on faith that have made the difference.