Are you called?
Jaime Farrant, a respected friend and native Puerto Rican, recently wrote the following blog for our Branded and Streetlight initiative. Jaime established and directed IJM (International Justice Mission) offices in Bolivia and Guatemala. He conducted groundbreaking investigative and advocacy efforts across the Americas which helped develop and maintain international relationships to advance human rights. Twice the Bolivian National Police honored Jaime for his crime fighting initiatives. Clearly, I am proud to call him my friend and fellow advocate against the violence and slavery inflicted on young victims both domestically and internationally. Jaime wrote:
A series of recent events have led me to think these past few weeks about the things that I believe I’m passionate about, and how committed I am to them. I read something recently on this topic that has not left my brain, and I would like to share it with you. It’s from Francis Chan’s new book “Forgotten God”. There, Chan writes:
“Did God lead you to where you are? A lot of people in my church and in my travels tell me ‘I believe that God has called me to Simi Valley’. Or Wichita. Or new York. Or Greenville. Or wherever. That very well may be the case. But it could also be a cop-out because you like where you live. You have a good job. The school district is safe and has high ratings. Your family lives close by (or perhaps far away, depending on your relationship with them). It makes sense that you are “called” to be there, right?
And maybe you are called to where you live. But if you say you are called to be in the place you are, a few questions need to be considered. For example, how would you be missed if you left this place? What would change? Basically, what difference does your presence here make? Or, as my youth pastor once asked me, ‘What would your church (and the worldwide church) look like if everyone was as committed as you are? If everyone gave and served and prayed exactly like you, would the church be healthy and empowered? Or would it be weak and listless?”
These 2 paragraphs have really made me think about the things I claim to be passionate about, be it faith, politics, or anything else. Think about what you’re passionate about. Now think…what have you done about those things? If you stopped doing what you have been doing, would a difference be felt? Am I doing something or just thinking or talking about it and actually not doing anything? Jesus said that “by their fruit you will recognize them” (Matthew 7:20). What are your fruits?
Now, let’s say you’re passionate about ending human trafficking. What would the world look like if everyone was as committed to this cause as you are? What could happen? Am I doing something to show how committed I am to this cause? What? If I’m not doing anything, why not? What if the whole world did the same things I did? Will things be better off? Worse off? The same?
What are you passionate about? How are you trying to make a difference? How can we change the world together? How can we have recognizable good fruits?
Yay! Its Jaime!