MISSIONS BEGIN AT HOME

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I saw a movie recently about two struggling families. The husbands had lost their jobs, and one of the wives could not keep up with the swelling bills, and of course lost her job as well. Things got so bad, the two families had to live in their cars on the streets. Luckily, one of the families got a hotel voucher and left the streets. Nothing was heard about them again. But the other family kept struggling, such that feeding became so impossible, their young son had to steal lunch at school. In fact, they got attacked by mobsters at night, and would have lost their lives. Now that scene made me wonder why anyone would steal from someone living on the streets. I mean, if they had any treasures, apart from their lives, they wouldn’t be on the streets. Then I concluded that if the blind could lead the blind, then the poor could steal from the poor. It’s the case of one person having a little advantage over the other. Such is life!

For days this family didn’t take a bath. They only cleaned up at pubic restrooms.  They did everything they could to keep their condition from anyone, lest the authorities be informed, and they lose their children.

As I watched, I could not help but come to terms with the fact that in the midst of plenty, there are some who starved, even unto death. Even though this family lived on the street, they were not entirely invisible. Someone should have noticed them, and reached out to help. But I guess everyone was busy with their own problems and activities, missions inclusive, that they did not notice this family. If someone had taken time to look within, they would have noticed this family. Compassion has eye that sees beyond the ordinary.

The story of the Good Samaritan is one with many facets of truth, but you have to dig in to know this. A young Jewish man who was an expert in the law asked Jesus what he had to do to have eternal life. Jesus asked him what the law said. Of all the laws, he chose that which he believed was the simplest, “love the Lord with all thy heart and mind. And love thy neighbour as thyself”. “Wonderful”, Jesus said, “you are really smart. Well then, go and do what it says, and you shall have eternal life”. But his conscience was pricked, because he knew down in his heart, something was not right. To justify his foolishness, he asked, “Who is my neighbour?” I believe he was expecting Jesus to say, ‘your brothers and sisters”. But as usual, Jesus disappointed him by telling a thought provoking parable.

Jesus told the story of a man who was robbed and left for dead on the street. Two people passed by and did nothing. Note Jesus’ choice of characters; a Priest, a Levite, and a Samaritan. He could have used a shepherd, a carpenter and a businessman as His characters. But He did not. He chose characters that represented the highest offices in the Jewish community, and one that depicted a class system. What was He trying to say? Well, the Priest was the intercessor between God and the people. He knew exactly what God wanted, and how God wanted it. God communicated His desire and instructions to the people through him. So he very well knew God and the law. The Levite was the next in line. He served in the temple, and carried out rituals nobody else in all of Israel could do. The Levite was strictly under God’s “employment”. So, he too had a good knowledge of God and the law. The Samaritan was a nobody who didn’t share the same heritage and affluence of a Jew, as it was believed. The Jews didn’t think the Samaritans were good enough to relate with, so they had nothing to do with the Samaritans. The traveller’s identity was not revealed. He could have been a Jew or a Gentile. Regardless of who he was, he was half dead and could not identify the people who passed him by. At this point conscience and compassion are put to play. Let me try and figure out what was going on in the minds of the Priest and the Levite.  May be, as Priest and Levite of the Holy temple of God Almighty, they were hurrying up to the Temple for worship or to meet the needs of the people. They had to get to their holy duties on time! Give me a break! Well then, the Samaritan was a common man who had no privileged duty, and had all the time in the world, so he had compassion on the man and helped him to an inn, where he spent the night with this broken man as he had him taken care of.  Well, Jesus asked who amongst the three men qualified as a neighbour, and the young man answered, “the Samaritan.”  Trust me, that answer, simple as it was, was very heavy in the mouth of the Jewish man, for obvious reasons. “Well then,” Jesus said, “go and do likewise”. Ouch! The man must have gasped.

I love the way Jesus humbles certain people who feel they know it all. Jesus’ answer to this young man was a blow below the belt. If you have missed the point of this story, like many do, let me help you here. The point about the story was not necessarily about who helped the injured man. The parable was not referring to the “love your neighbour as yourself’ statement that Jesus made. But it was rather referring to the “who is my neighbour”, that the young man mischievously asked. The story was an indictment on the Jews, who believed they knew the law, but fell short of its expectation.

In this article, the parable about the Good Samaritan is not referenced with regards to the class system. No, as Christians, I believe we know better. The point of reference here is how we can easily forget the work around us, because of the “big deal” in front of us, like the Priest and the Levite. Jesus is thorough, and everywhere He went, He took care of the people in that place before heading out to His next assignment. As Christians, God expects more from us. We should know better than the unsaved morally inclined man or woman. Our love for humanity should go deeper, and our search engines from the inside out.

Think about heaven, and walking into a lovely garden, and a man calls out to you and says you look familiar. By the time you start a conversation with the person, you found out that he lived on the street three blocks from you, and you saw him but never noticed them. And then you find out how he died: it was on a certain day you remember. You had your beautiful unique bags packed for a trip to Cambodia, and headed for the bus stop. You were so excited you were going on a mission’s trip to do the Lord’s bid.  And then the picture flashes back to you. That day as you waited at the bus stop in excitement, you did see a man on the floor, a few yards from you, writhing in pain. But you didn’t notice him, because you were headed for a very important trip.  And then in conclusion he says, “thirty minutes after your bus left, I saw myself in heaven and knew I had died”. Sad, isn’t it?

We actually need the help of the Holy Spirit not to be oblivious of the lonely and destitute around us, because I believe it is sometimes an innocent error. So as we go about our missionary activities, let us pray that our eyes be opened to see “them’ that are amongst us and do the needful, being the Jesus that they need.

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HE IS THE GOD OF ALL FLESH AND HE WAITS TOO
As a child, my favourite bible story was David and Goliath. The reason was obvious; a little boy killing wild animals, and finally a giant. He was my hero. I wanted to be like him, and if I couldn’t, then I imagined him as my unseen hero. As my relationship with God grew deeper, and I began to study the bible, I came across many other phenomenal stories, and one in particular that took the place of David and Goliath.  Growing up in an environment where people are often defined by what they owned or have achieved, my mind, as I believed was the majority of others, was set on achievements for the purpose of societal acceptance. I believed you had to be of a certain status to be accepted by the society. Yes, even as a Christian, you can have acceptance issues. With the way things are structured in this life, it is so easy to crave the acceptance of man, forgetting the most important acceptance ever, which is of God. Well then, that mind set didn’t last for long. As I continued to study the bible, I realised how important we are to God.  In Luke chapter 12:22-28, Jesus puts it this way: 22Then, turning to his disciples, Jesus said, “That is why I tell you not to worry about everyday life—whether you have enough food to eat or enough clothes to wear. 23For life is more than food, and your body more than clothing. 24Look at the ravens. They don’t plant or harvest or store food in barns, for God feeds them. And you are far more valuable to him than any birds! 25Can all your worries add a single moment to your life? 26And if worry can’t accomplish a little thing like that, what’s the use of worrying over bigger things? 27“Look at the lilies and how they grow. They don’t work or make their clothing, yet Solomon in all his glory was not dressed as beautifully as they are. 28And if God cares so wonderfully for flowers that are here today and thrown into the fire tomorrow, he will certainly care for you. Why do you have so little faith? For want of clarity, let me explain this scripture in the simplest term. Jesus talked about God’s providence and care for ravens and lilies, which as humans we would care less. I mean, how many times have you looked out your window and called out to a random flying bird, “Have you had breakfast?” Or how many times have you driven by a street or road, come across flowers, and asked “have you taken a drink today?” That simply doesn’t happen! But it happens with God everyday. He takes care of them circumspectly, so much that the lilies are better dressed than King Solomon who could boast of so much glory. In verse 28 He concludes by saying the reason we ever feel deficient, afraid or less than nothing, is because we have no faith. It has always been a faith problem.  Now, let’s look at my favourite bible story, THE CITY GATE HEROES, as I entitle it. The story is found in 2nd Kings chapter 7, and I would be concentrating on verses 3-11. But I advise that you read chapters 6 and the entire chapter 7 to get a better picture of the events that unfolded.  There was a famine in the land, such that was so horrible people ate their children. Nobody knew what to do, including the government.  But there were four leprous men who sat at the city gate and were fed from there. It is noteworthy that these men were simply called lepers, even though they had names. It’s strange when people identify you by your circumstance. Bad enough, food was thrown at them, because they were unclean and not allowed to mix with  “normal” people.  But this was a season of famine, and there was no food for them, not even crumbs. These men came together and considered the best risk analysis I have ever known.  They talked amongst themselves saying, “Why should we sit here waiting to die?” they asked each other. 4“We will starve if we stay here, but with the famine in the city, we will starve if we go back there. So we might as well go out and surrender to the Aramean army. If they let us live, so much the better. But if they kill us, we would have died anyway.”  Wow! Isn’t that amazing? They didn’t ask for a sign from God, as some of us would do. They thought it through, and took a step. What did they have to lose anyway? The story continues on how these men started on their journey to the Aramean camp, and how God honoured their faith. 5So at twilight they set out for the camp of the Arameans. But when they came to the edge of the camp, no one was there! 6For the Lord had caused the Aramean army to hear the clatter of speeding chariots and the galloping of horses and the sounds of a great army approaching. “The king of Israel has hired the Hittites and Egyptians to attack us!” they cried to one another. 7So they panicked and ran into the night, abandoning their tents, horses, donkeys, and everything else, as they fled for their lives. 8When the lepers arrived at the edge of the camp, they went into one tent after another, eating and drinking wine; and they carried off silver and gold and clothing and hid it. 9Finally, they said to each other, “This is not right. This is a day of good news, and we aren’t sharing it with anyone! If we wait until morning, some calamity will certainly fall upon us. Come on, let’s go back and tell the people at the palace.” How great is our God who can make one person seem like a battalion. With the horrible situation in the country, God was waiting for someone to make a move. And He found it in four lepers; the despicable, as the society saw them. This brings to me the knowledge that God waits too. The prophet Elisha had already predicted that in 24 hours, the prices of food would crash completely. But it is not enough for the prophecy to go forth. Someone has to make a move. Humans have their part in the fulfillment of prophecy, and God is no respecter of man, He honours our faith, without which no man can please him.  Sometimes I imagine how many of us have not made progress in life, because we blame someone or the system for our predicament. Those men were very sick men; so sick they decayed even while alive. If you do not understand the depravity that comes along with that sickness, then look it up on the internet and ask if you would ever sit one feet from them to eat. As a matter of fact, they were an eyesore, but not in the eyes of God. They had the courage to take an unprecedented step of faith, and God honoured them, because that is what He saw when He looked at them. He saw faithful men, not lepers. In my opinion, they should have been featured in the book of Hebrews 11 as heroes of faith. Notwithstanding, they still hold a pivotal role in the bible as great men of faith. I must not fail to mention how they went back to the city to share the good news of their plunder. Their conscience would not let them eat alone. That tells me something about their character. They were very forgiving and of a good conscience. Remember they were treated as outcasts, and were not even allowed into the city. They could have despised the people in the city who treated them as outcasts, and kept everything for themselves. Some of us would do that today. They had enough gold and silver that they could have used in building a kingdom for themselves, if they so wished. But they were men of noble character, who by the reason of their predicament were nicknamed the city gate lepers. Above all odds, these city gate lepers eventually became the first partakers of the best in the land.  I hear people say God controls everything. I doubt it strongly. If He did, then there would be no evil in the world, and if there was evil in the world. As is written, every good and perfect gift comes from the father of light...", James 1:17. The scripture says, “the heaven, even the heavens, are the Lord’s: but the earth he has given to the children of men”, Psalm 115:16. In Luke 13:34 Jesus cried out “ O Jerusalem, Jerusalem the city that kills the prophets and stones God’s messengers! How often I have wanted to gather your children together as a hen protects her chicks beneath her wings, but you wouldn’t let me”. Well that doesn’t sound like a God who is in “control”. No folks, the will of God is rarely done on earth. Remember Jesus taught us to pray that the will of God be done on earth as it is in heaven. And no, God is not in control because He is helpless. But He has simply yielded control to man, with the bible as His instruction for life on earth. You are and I have a choice. What choice have you made today? Have you chosen to live a life complaining about everyone but you? Do you believe that the system has set a limit for any reason whatsoever, and you have decided to tag along not reaching your desired goal? Or have you considered yourself as not being educated enough, black enough, white enough, pretty enough, talented enough? What is keeping you down? Remember, those four men were as a matter of fact, an eyesore, yet they got more than what they wanted. Nothing and no one is responsible for your failure or success but you. There is a God whose word has gone forth, and is waiting for a man to make a move. He is the God of all flesh and no respecter of persons.  This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate in it day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it. For then YOU will make YOUR way prosperous, and then you will have good success - Joshua 1:8