come and see what God has done!

I gave this talk tonight in Spanish at our weekly meeting. I was really pleased with how it turned out and so I wanted to put it up here. Don't worry, it's english. Please make sure to read the Bible verses that accompany it or otherwise it won't be the same.

Today I'm going to talk about something I've learned a lot about here in Argentina. Maybe you think I'm going to say mate or asado. Yes, I have learned a lot about these things, but, I'm actually going to talk about something much different. Tonight, we're going to talk about: ants.

Honestly, I didn't know too much about ants before I got here. In North Carolina, we have tiny little ants that every now and then showed up by the hundreds in our kitchen. My mom was never too excited about their arrival so my dad had to go out and by Raid and then after a few days...no more ants.

So at home, ants were mostly just an annoyance to me. But here, they fascinate me. My first month here in La Plata, I went to Plaza Moreno to read the Bible in the sun. After I had sat down, I realized that the grass was moving a little bit. I saw a ton of ants because I was sitting right in the middle of their path. I had thought the earthen path I was sitting on was just from people riding their bikes. Imagine my surprise when I realized it was from ants walking back and forth on the same path each day; working so hard that there wasn't even grass anymore!

From this moment on my fascination began.

Did you know that an ant can lift 20 times its own weight? And that if a 175 lb. man could lift the equivalent weight that an ant can, he could lift almost 9.000lbs? Truely, ants are miraculous.

I have a story to tell you about an ant that I met one day in the park. I went to run and it was one of the first days of spring, so I decided to enjoy the sun and stay for a little while to pray and think. I sat down beside a tree and after a few minutes, I saw a ton of ants, like always. They were all walking quickly with a little piece of a leaf, like it was really light.

A few moments later, I saw another ant. It had a huge peice of leaf. I mean, really, it was bigger than him. And, it seemed really weird because instead of carrying it on its back, he was carrying above its head, making things a lot more complicated.

That day, there was also a lot of wind. And the way he was carrying the leaf made his footing very unstable, so literally he would fall down almost every 30 seconds.

To make things even more difficult, he wasn't on the path with the other ants. He was close but still at a place where the path was full of roots he had to climb.

I honestly felt really bad for the little guy.

My first thought was: why is he trying to carry so much? Wouldn't it just be easier if he carried less weight? And the truth is, yes, it would have been easier. But, at the same time, the ant is made to carry that much weight. It's his role in life to carry that weight.

What I think really frustrated the ant that day was his circumstances, not the leaf. Maybe he got a little lost...yes, ants have a lot of strength, but they probably can't see very well. I guess that when he fell over because of the wind, he couldn't see the rest of the group to stay on the path with them. So that's why he was walking away from the group, over all the roots, falling and falling and falling...

Why do I tell you this story?

I'm convinced that God has a plan for each one of us. I'm sure that the majority of you have heard me or one of us here say that. This is really important to us. We believe that God really wants to have a personal relationship with each one of us. It's a little difficult to have that relationship because, well, God's perfect and let's face it, we're not. That imperfection is what the Bible calls sin and it impedes us from having a relationship with God. But, there's hope because God sent his son, Jesus Christ, to the world. He lived a perfect life, a life without any sin, and died in our place. In 2 Corinthians 5:21 it says, "he that knew no sin became sin for us." So, if we believe that Christ paid the payment for our sins, we can draw near to God because God will see us as perfect, like Christ.

Sounds good, huh? And I know many of you have made this decision and are now in are relationship with God. But what happens after we make this decision?

We have to keep drawing closer to God. We can't accept Christ and say, "Well great! God sees me as perfect. That's it!" It's not like that at all. We have to put things into practice, and that's where it gets more complicated. Because my relationship with God is not the same relationship that you have with God. We all have the same goal: to be more like Christ each day, to be imitators of Him. But, God is always showing us different things at different times. We're all in the process of "santification" and we all have the promise that God will finish the work that he's doing in us. The way he does the work in us can appear different in each life, but the work is the same.

We're going to read a passage that has really impacted me and keeps impacting me. It's John 21 and I want to give you a little context before we read it. When Christ was on this earth, he had a group of 12 disciples with him all the time, working with him, learning from him. My favorite disciple is Peter. I feel like I have a lot in common with him because he had a lot of faults. But, in his heart, he sincerely wanted to love Christ.

In this passage, Peter has already denied knowing Christ 3 times. He felt so much guilt for doing that. When he heard that Christ had resurrected, he went running toward the grave, wanting to know if it was true. Jesus appeared to a few of the other disciples after the resurrection and Peter was going crazy to see Jesus. Here in this passage we have the long awaited moment where Peter finally sees Jesus:

insert John 21: 2-8.

I really love Peter's reaction. He was so desperate to see Christ that he went swimming to the shore! But to me, he had the right to be so excited because this was really a sentimental moment. When Christ originally called Peter to be his disciple a few years before, he had been fishing all night and hadn't caught a single fish. Jesus came and said: cast out your nets and you will find fish. They did it and there was a huge quantity of fish. Sounds pretty similar, huh?

Peter's reaction to this first miracle was to say, "Depart from me, Lord, for I am a sinner!" He saw the power that Jesus had and knew that he was nothing in the light of who Christ was. Jesus responded to Peter saying, "Don't fear, from now on I will make you fisher's of men." And what happened? They abandoned everything and followed him. I'm pretty sure that Peter and Jesus were thinking about this first meeting as they were reunited after the resurrection. I also am pretty sure that Christ wanted Peter to think on that moment: when he left all he had, all he knew and followed after Christ in order to have a relationship with Him.

Ok, let's look again at John 21. (Insert John 21: 15-22)

This passage is really difficult, but really lovely. I love the grace that Peter found on the beach that morning. Yes, he messed up, he denied Christ, but in this talk with Christ he re-encounters his purpose: to love God and to love those around him. And this is the purpose that God has for each one of us who's in a relationship with him.

But, Jesus said something that wasn't very comfortable: the part about how he would die. Jesus said that Peter would die as a martyr. And once again, I love Peter's very human reaction. He saw John, the other disciple, behind him and said, "What's going to happen to him? If I have to die a hard death, shouldn't his be a little difficult, too?" Peter wanted to follow Christ, but wanted it to be easy. And there are a lot of promises in the Bible, but sorry, that life is easy isn't one of them.

Responding to his doubts. Christ gives Peter some really wise words: You can't compare the things that are happening to you with what is happening to those around you. You have to listen to my voice and walk the walk I have specifically put before you, for this is the path that will make you most like me. You can't look to the left or to the right. You have to focus in on my face and follow me.

The part of my path that has brought me here to Argentina is an unforgettable one. It's going to be difficult for me to return, but now God has called me to follow him at home. But, these two years, though they have been wonderful, haven't been easy. I've had my own burdens, my own circumstances that have made me uncomfortable, just like peter. And, many times, just like my ant friend, I have felt very far from everyone else with a huge burden, climbing over the roots.

Many of you know that when I went home last November, I found a very tense situation. My younger brother was facing addictions and depression. And when I returned to Argentina in January, I had no idea how things would turn out with him. To be honest, I really doubted God's call for me here in Argentina. I doubted his goodness. I could only see the pain, the sadness and the anxiety. I couldn't understand why I was here and not with my family. I went through a lot of really long months.

I know that this is life. I know that each person here has their own burden to carry. Maybe school's not going very well. Or maybe you're worried about your own brother who's going down a dangerous path. Or maybe a loved one is sick. I don't know the burdens, but Christ knows each one. And he wants to help you walk through this hard time.

There's a verse that talks about this and honestly, it's helped me so much: (insert matthew 11:28-30)

At the beginning of this year, I was like that ant that I met, carrying my burden awkwardly, above my head, so whatever wind that happened to come along would knock me down. I was carrying it with my own strength, trying to control and fix everything. And it just doesn't work like that. We have to cast our cares to Christ because he cares for us. Only when we surrender our burdens over to Him are we able to follow him.

It's not easy. We have to have the confidence to say to God: I love you and I believe you when you say you have a plan for my life that's for my good. I'm going to walk with you forever. This is true faith. This is a personal relationship.

This year was probably the most difficult year of my life. But God has truly done miraculous things in the life of my brother, the life of my parents and in me. I will never again doubt God's goodness.

I want to finish with the last verses of John 21. It's the last chapter of the book and John is closing it up: (insert John 21: 24, 25).

Can I tell you something? Jesus continues to do big things. In my life. In your life. If you have a relationship with Him, you are really part of something big. I hope that you never forget this and that you never compare your walk with God with those around you. After I leave, I want to hear reports that you are all walking with Him. That you always follow Him.