Transition

Well, after living 3 of the past 4 years in Finland, I'm planning on moving to Romania in September. While I was there a few weeks ago, God spoke very clearly that this is the next step for me, and this autumn is the time for that step. Honestly I wasn't shocked; though the timing came as a bit of a surprise. I know that this move to Romania, to work with the poor (networks.org.ro), will bring together a number of different things God's been doing with me over the past years - worship and prayer, missional communities, intentional discipleship, and development economics (among other things).

That makes this a time of transition, and it's been pretty interesting so far - lots of communicating and processing. Getting accepted to university here also added to the processing, though it was never gonna change my decision. But God has been good in all of this, and I know that this is an opportunity to get to know Him in new ways and for Him to work in my heart. I'm doing my best to submit to the process.

Tomorrow I'm going back to England for a month, after which I'll have about a month left in Finland. That is a pretty crazy thought, though it hasn't really sunk in yet. I'm anticipating there will be a whole lot more processing (emotional and mental) to do before I head off to Romania, and on one level it will be a sad time - Finland will always be one of my homes, but it's gonna be different now. One challenge already is to be really present here for the remaining time, while I know that in some sense the cloud has already moved, and I must pack up and follow it. 

So, after nearly 4 years of this blog, I've decided to wrap this one up and start a new blog. Right now seems to be a time of transition for me in a number of ways, and I figured the blog could follow suit. It's been funny to look back at stuff I wrote when I first moved to Helsinki back in 2008; so much has changed since then. I think it's good to leave that behind now, and to step into the new things God has for me. Thanks to all who've read my ramblings over the years.

So, you can find the new blog at http://johnswindingroad.blogspot.fi/ (I'll try to actually write something there fairly soon)

Following

Recently one particular idea has been coming up repeatedly, in conversations and in books I'm reading (particularly Bonhoeffer's 'Cost of Discipleship'). In short, it is that discipleship is adherence to Jesus - not to values, principles, ideologies, locations, or people. In following Jesus, I've found that, in many areas, just applying principles or following what others do isn't enough and may lead me down the wrong path. Only in listening to and obeying Jesus can I walk the path He has for me. 

At it's core, the call to follow Jesus is a call to relationship with Jesus. Yet so often I can actually use principles to separate me from a 'dangerous proximity' to Jesus. I can become so invested in plans and strategies that I cut myself off from hearing His voice and simply following Him. For example, by simply adhering to principles relating to money, I can end up missing out on relating to God around the subject of my finances. Because, in the end, God is looking at my heart, at the insecurities and fears that I may be reluctant to let go of. 

Of course, a life lived by following rules, principles and other 'wiser' people sounds much easier and safer. But I know that I'm called to follow Jesus and obey Him above all else.