Our Call to Obedience

In my return home, I've been confronted with the concept of obedience in a couple different forms. In Dietrich Bonhoeffer's book The Cost of Discipleship he addresses the entangled yet beautifully orchestrated relationship of faith and obedience. The apostle Peter in 1 Peter 1, a passage I'm currently memorizing, addresses God's elect who have been chosen for the purpose of obedience to Christ.

Merriam Webster defines obedience as the act of submission to restraint or command of authority; or more simply put, doing what you are told to do. Certainly I'm familiar with this word in regards to obeying my parents or obeying the law, but I've lately been challenged by its implications towards my life as a Christian. What does it mean to be obedient to Christ as Peter wrote? Am I a true disciple in that my obedience of God's word leads to faith and faith to a greater desire for obedience?

I don't know.

Or maybe I do but the answers scare me. Obedience, especially obedience to Christ as a mark of true discipleship, demands sacrifice. The very definition contains the idea of submission, a dying to oneself and one's desires and comforts. It means acknowledging the authority of another in my life, that I am not my own and cannot live as such. And in the pridefulness of my heart, that is a lot to bear under.

I think the truth is I fear obedience because it seems like a loss of freedom. In my mind it means becoming weak, blindly following the regulations of another. And I also fear it because it is hard. Obeying God's will for my life could mean going where I don't particularly want to go, or even in some cases staying when I don't want to stay. It can mean heartache, discouragement, frustration, weariness, isolation, grief.

But the fact remains that as a follower of Christ, I am compelled to obey. Indeed, it is my calling to obey; the very reason why I have been chosen by the foreknowledge of God the Father and made able through the sanctifying work of the Spirit as Peter also writes. Obedience to God, to obey him and delight in him forever, is why I was created. It is my purpose, the state in which I will be most fulfilled.

By God's grace I want to choose the path of obedience, the straight and narrow, which leads in the end to the words "well done, good and faithful servant." God grant us all the strength and courage to choose this glorious call to obedience.

Sweet Memories

A month back in the States and it sometimes feels like Japan never happened...it floats like a hazy pleasant dream in the back of my mind. Eating with hashi or when an "arigato" or "daijoubu" slips out of my mouth will bring momentary flashbacks, but otherwise life seems to carry on unawares.

But it did happen and I'm not who I was before I left for Japan. For that I'm truly grateful. And I'm also incredibly grateful for all the people God brought into my life this past year. Here are a few moments with the people who now have a deep, special place in my heart. Memories with them live on even as I reacclimate to life in America.

Riding Gondolas in Hakone on our debrief

My quiet spot at the ryokan in Hakone

With the Paos, a staff family in Tokyo

Tokyo staff team + Stinters

Two of my favorite Tap Lovers friends

With Totoro at the Ghibli Museum in Mitaka

Kaiten sushi with Shiori

Our final lunch time at Rikkyo University

With my good friend Yurika

Roomies

Our final team bowling outing

Natusko from Tap Lovers

With Kazuko and Chihiro at the student center

Staff kids :)

Kanako at Aoyama University

Rocking our matching Pineapple Baby shirts!

Taku seeing us off on our last day in Tokyo

 

On our way at Narita

Home sweet home, and minions.

Happy Place

Time for pictures! My team and I got to take a "fun day" and go to Tokyo Disney Sea, the sister park of Disneyland. It started out overcast and rainy, but stopped later on in the day. Just enough to keep the crowds way down though! We even walked onto Indiana Jones in the afternoon- unheard of! Grateful for the time to share the childhood nostalgia and fun of Disney with my stint family.

The entry into Tokyo Disney Sea

Minnie and Duffy

In line for Indiana Jones the first time

In front of Ariel's Grotto with two of my favorites

They just barely let Ben ride the roller coaster- he was at the height limit!

Kels and her big kitty

We're flying on a carpet!

Inside Ariel's Grotto

Found Prince Eric

With Crush and Squirt

Duffy door

Duffy pots

View from the line for the riverboat

Looking out on the "American" harbor and a full moon

Who We Really Are

Oh the selfie. My generation truly has a love-hate relationship with this photo genre. I can't say I'm a huge fan though I am guilty of taking a few...but I digress. You really don't care about my selfie habits, nor should you!

My favorite popsicle is back for the summer! Definitely deserves a selfie ;)

My relationship with the selfie has been evolving during my time in Japan. This is mostly due to the Japanese obsession with image and portrayal and the incredible shallowness that is built up through this preoccupation. The more contact I have with this culture and its habits the more God has shown me how these things reveal such a need for the gospel.

Even without living here an extended amount of time, you would come to realize the Japanese love their photos. IPhones, photobooths, tiny toy cameras, giant professional-grade point and shoots, photo-capturing devices are everywhere.

Nearly everyone is a photographer in some way. The culture is obsessed with capturing moments that declare one's economic well-being or social desirability. My facebook newsfeed is always filled with artistically framed photos of food at all the cafes my friends visit or cutesy selfies in said cafes with their friends. Everything must be captured so it can be held onto as something that happened, something tangible that gives value and identity.

I've experienced another aspect of that pursuit of identity firsthand when sharing on campus. Countless times after a conversation, my new friends will ask to take a photo to commemorate our time together. It's a fun idea- I love that they are so eager about the start of our friendship. And I love the concept of recording even more mundane moments throughout the day. But it also makes me sad because it glosses over a very deep need for real love and acceptance. I wonder how many pictures are taken of empty, hollow relationships. How many of these images record real experiences shared with real people.

It has forced me to really look into my own heart as well. In particular, this year I joined the world of Instagram and was inundated with a whole new world of images, perfectly filtered and cropped to portray everyone's beautiful, fulfilling lives. Based on my own life, I'm fairly certain a lot of these Instagram feeds don't tell the whole story. Usually they don't document the sickness, the arguments, the darkness, the loneliness. Even chaos is carefully orchestrated and artistically arranged. It reminds me again of something in Japanese culture- purikura, or photo booths. Popular especially among tween and teen girls, purikura allows you to give yourself bigger eyes, lighter skin, longer and thinner legs. Lips are rosier, eyelashes longer- nothing is as it appears. Like Japanese girls airbrushing themselves into oblivion in the photobooths, things like Instagram allow us to shape and cultivate our image and choose what the world knows about us.

As a female, heck as a person, I understand why Japan is obsessed with image. Facing this temptation myself everyday, I get it.

I get it, but I also have truth to combat the obsession. Inundated with advertisements on trains, billboards, pamphlets, I also fight to remind myself daily that my identity rests solely in the Lord. It breaks my heart to think of how many people here don't know their true identity. The reason they take all these photos, manipulate themselves with photoshop, frantically document every little thing, is because they're seeking affirmation. They want to be known and loved and accepted. They cling to their image because that is where they find their worth. What a tragic and impossible lifestyle!

God reminds us of our identity countless times throughout the Bible. To the Israelites in Exodus 20 he reminds them that he is their God who brought them out of slavery. Therefore they belong to God and are free. 1 Peter 2:9 tells us we are a chosen people, a holy nation, a people belonging to God. 2 Corinthians 5:17 declares us to be new creations in Christ Jesus. The list goes on. And all are true of us, for all eternity, just because God said so.

We don't have to impress God with our popularity or looks. When he looks at us he sees Christ, perfect, righteous, holy, beautiful. We are his children, dearly loved and more precious than gold. Why would we taint that with our proctored selfies or shallow albums full of all the lattes we've consumed? How do those things affect who we are on the inside?

The truth is they don't. They have no power. That is where Japan is so misled, why there is such a desperate need for the gospel. It is the gospel alone that perfectly, wholly gives people purpose and meaning. The gospel redefines who we are and brings fulfillment in the process. No amount of selfies or likes on Instagram is ever going to bring the kind of eternal satisfaction that comes from being completely confident with who we are in Christ.

In the Face of Evil

Regarding Japan, Christians talk a lot about dry soil, hardened hearts, a slow harvest, barriers to the gospel. Satan has had a centuries long hold on this place, slowly building a massive web of lies and deceit entangling the island. As unconcerned and tuned out as the Japanese might seem to spiritual things, the battle for their souls is incredibly real. Fierce, desperate spiritual warfare goes on around us constantly, usually without our slightest awareness.

I consider myself a pretty sensitive and observant individual. I notice things. But lately I've been realizing how little I notice the spiritual aspect of this place. I acknowledge the reality of the hold Satan has here, but seldom do I actually feel the tangible nature of the evilness that surrounds me.

Monday I experienced some of it and it was a sad, scary thing.

On our day with the Lord, I felt called to go to Meiji Shrine at Harajuku to pray over it. Built in the 1910's to honor the deified Emperor Meiji and his wife Empress Shouken, it is one of the most popular shrines in Japan. In the first few days of the new year it sees millions of visitors come through.

A massive Shinto gate marks the entrance to the shrine grounds. As I approached, I was reminded of verses declaring the Lord's worthiness and that one day all creation would acknowledge him as God. I pictured the huge solid beams of wood before me snapped in two, literally bowing down before the one true God. I prayed that image would become reality soon, that God would claim for himself the worship currently being given to false idols.

Walking under the gate I immediately felt weighed down. I don't know how to describe the air around me, but it made me sad and heavy. As I looked up at the beautiful avenue of trees creating a canopy over my head I was drawn to worship their Creator. But I also mourned because I felt sure I was the only one in that place with my thoughts directed towards Him. Surrounded by the beauty made by the Living God, the crowds of people walking with me were living in emptiness.

Once to the main shrine grounds, I took a seat on a bench, praying the Lord would open my eyes to see what he saw.

As I sat, I felt the weight on my heart grow heavier, and tears brimmed over the more I took in what was going on around me. Watching old couples climb the stairs to the shrine, bow, clap, and pray in unison broke me. I cried out for them, that they might hear the truth and be given real hope in Christ. Every clap that echoed in my ears made me cringe. I'd witnessed this many times before, but this time the empty ritual of these poor souls brought something darker to my mind. I pictured Satan standing over them, laughing gleefully, delighting in their misguided and worthless worship. As I thought of how God absolutely delights in the praise and worship of his children, it made me physically ill to think of Satan having such delight in seeing these people worshipping lies.

Another site caught my eye and cut me even deeper. A priest clad in pure white robes walked briskly across the courtyard to perform some ceremonial duty. Immediately Isaiah 1:18 came to mind- "Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow." White as the priest's garments. But I knew he was not white as snow on the inside. Though Christ has died for this man's sins and risen victorious so this priest might be redeemed before God, he does not know. He is living in a lie, a false sense of security regarding the destination of his soul. His white Shinto robes were a painful reminder of the reality of his sin-blackened soul.

The final straw in my pain was when another priest struck the shrine gong, marking some significant moment in the day. As tourists rushed over to snap a picture, I was paralyzed in my seat. Every strike of the gong sent a shiver through me. I can't describe it any other way except to say it was a very dark and oppressive sound. It was as if Satan were triumphantly declaring his hold over the place, a sound completely opposed to truth and hope and light.

Leaving my bench and walking out of the Meiji grounds, I was surprised at how physically drained I felt. I was almost to the point of shaking and even felt short of breath. This was the most spiritual experience I have had while visiting a shrine or temple here in Japan. As an art history student I usually can just view these places as architecturally impressive, not as places of idol worship backed by Satan. But this time was very different.

This time God revealed more spiritual reality to me. Satan is very real, his demons are very real, the struggle for souls is very real. I don't think I can say I am thankful for the darkness I observed on Monday. It made me really sad and I felt overwhelmed, paralyzed, even hopeless. Those are all scary things to feel.

Even as I write this I don't know if I've recovered from this experience. I don't know if I ever really will. But I'm praying the Lord would take this experience and fully redeem it to his purposes. As much evil as might exist in Japan, the ultimate reality is that Christ is risen and victorious over sin and death. Satan's time is short and he knows it. In the end, God will receive the glory of all nations, tribes, and tongues as it was always meant to be. Until that glorious day, I pray he would continue to sanctify me through experiences like these so I might better understand and live out his great love for the lost.

Cherishing Springtime

As my last two months in Japan begin to pass, I'm learning to soak in every moment in this place that has stolen my heart. Spring in Japan is a thing to behold, and I am grateful for this second opportunity to enjoy its delicate and fleeting beauty. The last few weeks have been filled with natural beauty and fun moments with friends...here are just a handful of shots to capture them.




Catching the last of the sakura

 

Happy newly weds

Wedding photos

Stacked weddings, so Japan

Reflections

Waseda vs. Keio American football game

Egg hunt at Yoyogi koen

Getting a hand from a neighboring picnicker

She's my favorite :)

Friends at our belated Easter picnic!

Tap Lovers forever

Kohei x 3

Carp banners on Children's Day