[ posted by L2 Foundation with permission from Tom Lin ]
Urbana Testimony: True Reality
Tom Lin, Dec. 31 Evening Plenary
It was Dec. 31, 1993, and it was an amazing Urbana. I was a senior, and ready to respond to God’s calling.
I heard the heartbeat of Jesus and His love for the world.
I heard His call to be a campus missionary with InterVarsity.
I heard God say “GO!”
But when I came home,
I discovered that no one else heard what I heard.
I discovered that there were rulers and authorities, powers and spiritual forces of evil against me.
I discovered that the true reality outside of Urbana was hard…
My friends didn’t understand this strange thing called “missions”.
My parents didn’t understand why I wouldn’t get a “real job.” “We didn’t send you to Harvard so that you could go into missions!” they said.
They cried and argued with me. One day, mom ended all of our arguments by saying “If you do this, if you do this mission, I will kill myself.”…And Dad bowed down on his knees, begging me “Tom, our lives are in the palms of your hands, please don’t hurt us!”
…I was confused. God, I love my family, so why are you letting this happen? God, why won’t you make it easier for me to go into missions?
As I prayed, I heard God again say “GO!” GO and Be strong in the Lord and in His mighty power. God gave me the confirmation I needed to stand firm and say YES to missions.
Well, mom didn’t end up physically killing herself, but emotionally and spiritually, she did. After I communicated my decision:
Mom and dad left the church and renounced their faith.
They went into a severe depression.
They stopped talking to me for years.
My phone calls were never answered, and my letters were never returned.
The true reality of obeying God’s call was hard…
…But God was good in the midst of this!
He gave me surrogate parents, who welcomed me into their homes.
He gave me all the financial resources I ever needed.
He even gave me an expanded vision for His Kingdom, when in 2001, He called me overseas.
That same year, another painful reality came -- Mom was diagnosed with Stage 4 cancer, and she was given only months to live. We still hadn’t reconciled, and the true reality of God’s calling was getting harder and harder. Lord, I’ve obeyed your call. What about me?...
A few months before her passing, on December 31, 2001, God’s mighty power was shown: With tears streaming down her cheeks, mom sat next to me and held my hand:
“Tom, there’s something I’ve been wanting to say to you for a long time now… I’m so sorry… I know I caused you so much pain. I should have supported you. I’m so sorry, Tom... Will you forgive me?”…
These words were words I had been waiting for over 7 years to hear…
BUT there was more. Dad motioned over to me:
“If you go overseas, I’ll be ok….You know, all I ever really wanted was for your dreams to come true. So if God is sending you overseas, then go.”
*I was in shock!… That day, I learned something very important about God’s calling:
The true reality of obeying God’s call is hard, but our God is good and powerful.
Our God reigns and is victorious! Amen.