Soooo how are you enjoying 2020 so far?

Calm? Relaxing? Filled with fun and adventure?

Not so much? Ya me too.

So this last Sunday, Michelle and I had a pretty amazing group of friends out on the boat, many of whom have been previous guests on this podcast… Christine Hassler, Stef Sifandos, Tah and Kole Whitty, and Mike Chang to name just a few.

We talked about the events that have happened so far this year. We talked about the murder of George Floyd, and how this tragic event can be turned into a force for good.

And as we continued to talk, we realized that every single person on that boat, without exception, was in a period of personal transition.

Some people were stranded in Austin away from their homes because of the health crisis.

Others are in the process of moving into a new house for one reason or another, and others were in the middle of changing careers.

There were 11 people on that boat, and not a single one of them was going about their lives as usual.

2020 is a year of transition for the world, and so far, that transition has been quite chaotic.

The amount of trauma and fear being created in people right now is going to last a generation, and unfortunately, I don’t think this trend is going to slow down anytime soon with the election just 5 months away.

So what can we do about it? How can we heal a nation and come out of this stronger, wiser, closer, and healthier on the other side?

Well, I have a few ideas, but in reality, the answers already exist, and they have for a good 2,000 years now.

Whether you’re religious or not… Christian, Muslim, Buddist, or Atheist, the solution to every problem humanity creates, remains the same…

Love, and forgiveness.

They’re not an easy solution. Love and forgiveness both require strength, courage, wisdom, maturity, and selflessness.

But at the end of the day, they are the only thing that allows true healing to occur, instead of perpetuating cycles of trauma, pain, and retaliation.

A month ago, before the events of this past week, I had a chance to interview someone I consider to be one of the most interesting men in the world.

His name is Victor Marx.

I found Victor years ago on YouTube when I stumbled upon a video of him.

Another man has a pistol pressed against his forehead, ready to fire.

In that moment, Victor managed to grab the gun and point in back towards the aggressor in less than a second. If you blinked, you missed it.

And as soon as it was over, applause and gasps of disbelief erupted from the audience.

You see, Victor is a pastor, but not the kind you’d find at your local church.

He was tortured as a child and spent much of his youth lost and outraged at the world.

Until he found Jesus, which became the defining moment in his life.

Today, he has a beautiful wife and children, and in many ways, everything to lose.

But instead of living in comfort, he chooses to travel to the most dangerous places in the world like Iraq and Afghanistan, with a gun, a Bible, and a bullet-proof vest.

He is a white man in a foreign land, putting his life on the line to fight evil, and to rescue little brown girls from sex slavery and torture.

Why?

Because of love and forgiveness. Because that’s what he received from Christ, and because that’s the only real way to heal the world.

Please help me welcome, Victor Marx.

Resources:

VictorMarx.com
FreeBurmaRangers.org

Music:

Track: Tinoma – Find You [NCS Release]
Music provided by NoCopyrightSounds.
Watch: youtu.be/GW_TLXbZmz4
Free Download / Stream: ncs.io/TFindYou