Davita Maharaj is a part of our church family-from Pasadena, with studies at Wheaton College (’08) and the University of Oxford (’12). But, she has made a commitment to follow Jesus’ call to a difficult place of service in India. I asked her whether John 12:23-26 had helped shape her decision to go there. Here are small sections of the journal entries she sent me to help me understand (used with permission):
March 30, 2010 Trinity Forum Academy
“Where you go I will go, your people are my people, and your God my God” is how I want to respond to you, Lord. But every second of today feels like a knife in my heart, with every dream stripped away. More than ever, being joyful and blessing others is a choice to love Jesus, not something that can come out of me without Jesus. Without Him I’m a cold dark stone, and He is the light that must shine onto me in order for any light to refract to others. Where He leads me I will follow, even if it’s to India or to my death… Even if it’s to a road that has no glory, fame, or money. How terrible. But the cost of non-discipleship is not an option. As Greg Jesson said, “There’s a book called The Cost of Discipleship, but I've always wanted to write The Cost of Non-Discipleship, because it’s so much more costly to not follow Jesus!” Jesus, please help me not to mope... Please let me realize more fully today what it means to say that I am your child and I belong to you.
October 8, 2010 INDIA
Today was the first time that I was tempted to shake a fist at God. Instead, I found myself arguing with Him out loud, “Why me? Why couldn’t I just stay in America, have a normal life with stability, live in a beautiful home with a white picket fence, start a family, sink my roots deep...or at least live somewhere with clean, running water?” We haven’t had running water for a week now, and my roommate’s dengue fever is getting worse...
October 13, 2010 INDIA
Today I was struck by the verses in “What Wondrous Love is This”:
When I was sinking down beneath God’s righteous frown,
Christ laid aside His crown for my soul for my soul.
Christ laid aside His crown. So I too should lay aside my “crown”—and any pride that comes from being of a regal, Brahmin background, or from being American, or from my education, for the sake of the precious people of India.
To His Glory,
Dr. Greg Waybright
Senior Pastor