Today we drove the 45 minutes, and hiked the 65 minutes, to "Coup-a-David", a village church where one of our students is the pastor. It was a magnificent hike. We hiked over mountains, through rivers and around villages. Everything was so vast, but every moment there were signs of life. Children peeked around rocks, goats were tied to random bushes, homes were tucked between the trees...it was truly a "National Geographics" kind of day. The church was wonderful, too...the only church in the entire area. I'm sure that many people hiked farther than we did today to be there. The sermon used the story of Naaman in 2nd Kings 5, and the pastor preached a solid, practical and Biblical sermon about obedience being more important than sacrifice to the Lord. He used Naaman as an example of the times that God does answer us, but we want to give Him OUR solutions, OUR answers. The pastor shared with the congregation that there would be problems in our lives that no money, no sacrifice, and no person could fix, but that it is in these times that God desires our obedience in the small and large things. God didn't want Naaman's money or gold, but it was his (reluctant) obedience that finally brought healing in his life.
Being with Pastor Enik and the members of the church was blessing enough, and then several women spent the entire 3 hour service fixing rice and beans and plantain for us.
As we hiked the long road back, we were overwhelmed with the realization that literally thousands of people, that we never knew existed before today, lived in the areas we passed through. Every Biblical truth, every shower of love, every answer to prayer, every promise of hope that we have EVER received from the Lord, He holds for these thousands, too. When we lift up our voices to Him, even for little things, He hears. Hears, AND cares. AND answers. And He does this for each tucked away person on this earth! Each naked child we passed today, each shriveled old man, each hungry family, each group of teens who had nothing to do, nowhere to go. Each family torn by the violence in Kenya, each broken brother in Nepal, each hopeless mother in Sudan, each hurting child in the United States.
What He has been for Matt and I, HE IS for all of these, whether they know it, know Him, or not.
If God SO loved the world as to send His only Son, we dare not love less or more selectively.
beautiful word.
ReplyDeletethanks friend :)
I wish I was with you on that trip.
ReplyDeleteI know how beautiful it can be.
Dad Ayars
even for sudan... hope and love for broken haiti and broken sudan. sometimes i think we got more than we bargained for in this whole living overseas and seeing the world thing. but jesus loves even sudan...and that is enough reason to keep loving my neighbors.
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