The unhypocritcal church
A couple of years ago, I published three posts called “The unhypocritical church” (Part 1, Part 2, Part 3). The posts were based on a study of, meditation on, and comparison to Romans 12 (especially verses 9-21). Here are the three posts together:
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Most theologians comment about how “theological” the book of Romans is. This simply means that Paul speaks in terms that most closely resemble how modern theologians speak. Of course, Romans is far from a “systematic theology”. But Romans does include a good deal of theology – that is, Paul tells us what he things about God and people and salvation.
In fact, Chapters 1 through 11 are filled with theology. We learn that all people are sinful – all people are separated from God – all people deserve eternal separation from God. We also learn that the remedy is found in the person of Jesus Christ – his death, burial, and resurrection – and that the remedy is administered through the person and presence and power of the Holy Spirit. But, Paul doesn’t stop there.
In Chapter 12, Paul begins to show how his “theology” should work itself out in the lives of all followers of Jesus Christ. He begins by showing that a life sacrificed to God will lead to a life that is tranformed – changed – into a life that is acceptable to God. This life will demonstrate the gifts of the Spirit because it will be controlled by the Spirit. The Spirit will manifest himself differently in different people, but the manifestation of the Spirit’s gifts will always be for the same purpose. But, Paul doesn’t stop there.
In Romans 12:9-21, Paul lays down specific characteristics of the life that is led by the Spirit. This is what he says:
Let love be genuine (unhypocritical). Abhor what is evil; hold fast to what is good. Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor. Do not be slothful in zeal, be fervent in spirit, serve the Lord. Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer. Contribute to the needs of the saints and seek to show hospitality. Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them. Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep. Live in harmony with one another. Do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly. Never be conceited. Repay no one evil for evil, but give thought to do what is honorable in the sight of all. If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all. Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.” To the contrary, “if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink; for by so doing you will heap burning coals on his head.” Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good. (Romans 12:9-21 ESV)
Notice how the genuine (unhypocritical) love of Spirit-indwelled, Spirit-led believers is described:
- holding fast to good
- loving one another
- honoring one another
- serving the Lord fervently
- rejoicing
- patient
- praying
- giving to needy believers
- being hospitable (loving strangers)
- blessing
- living in harmony
- humble
- doing what is honorable
- living in peace with all
This is how the church of God should live. This is how the church of God should be described. In fact, the “theology” of the previous 11 chapters means little if the lives of believers are not being transformed by the indwelled Spirit.
So, where do you stop? Do you stop at discussing theology? Or, do you see the power of the Spirit at work in your life? How does a description of your life match up to Paul’s description of the Spirit-led, transformed life?
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“The unhypocritcal church – Part 2”
When I wrote the post “The unhypocritical church“, I did not plan for it to continue into a second part. However, as I have been meditating on Romans 12 for the last few days, there are a few more thoughts that I want to share.
Sunday morning, we gathered with the church like we do every week. After the formal part of our meeting concluded, people hung around talking for about an hour. At one point, my daughter and another girl her age stood by the door and, like good stewardesses, greeted those who left by saying, “Buh-bye. See you next week.” This was funny at first. Then I realized exactly what they were saying. They recognized that we would not see many of these people for seven days.
Sunday afternoon, as I published the post called “The unhypocritical church” and thought about the episode with my daughter and her friend, I realized that it would be impossible to carry out the teachings of Romans 12:9-21 if we only see one another once a week in a formal setting. Look at this list again:
- holding fast to good
- loving one another
- honoring one another
- serving the Lord fervently
- rejoicing
- patient
- praying
- giving to needy
- believers
- being hospitable (loving strangers)
- blessing
- living in harmony
- humble
- doing what is honorable
- living in peace with all
Sure, some of these we could probably do once a week, and pretend to have carried out Paul’s intention. But, can we have patience with one another if we only see each other once every seven days? Can we live in harmony with one another if we only see each other once every seven days? Similarly, we are to help one another live according to these descriptions. Can we help one another be hospitable toward strangers if we only see one another on Sunday?
This passage (Romans 12:9-21) is about community. Paul does not state, “Live as a community with your brothers and sisters in Christ”. However, he describes believers living together in such a way that they must recognize themselves as a Spirit-indwelled, Spirit-led community in order to see these descriptions carried out in their lives. There is no way to understand “church” as a once or twice a week event and have these characteristics. No, Paul is not describing an event, or a location, or an organization. Paul is describing a way-of-life for people who are following their Master together.
Among the church where God has placed me, I recognize these characteristics in many of my brothers and sisters. On Sunday, I heard that several people are spending their Labor Day Monday helping some friends work on their houses. I heard about other friends who are donating furniture and delivering it to someone that they do not know, but who is in need of furniture. Other friends are spending their day off by working on cars for their brothers and sisters. In activities such as these (and probably many others that I do not know about), the love of Christ is manifest and proclaimed both to believers and to unbelievers alike.
A community… a kingdom community, ruled by the King, looking out for one another, serving one another and the world, proclaiming the good news of Jesus Christ, and warmly welcoming those who accept his grace and mercy. This is the kind of church that Paul is describing. This is the church of unypocritical love. This is how I want to live my life.
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“The unhypocritical church – Part 3”
I think this will be my last post on Romans 12:9-21 for now. As a reminder, this is what Paul writes:
Let love be genuine (unhypocritical). Abhor what is evil; hold fast to what is good. Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor. Do not be slothful in zeal, be fervent in spirit, serve the Lord. Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer. Contribute to the needs of the saints and seek to show hospitality. Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them. Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep. Live in harmony with one another. Do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly. Never be conceited. Repay no one evil for evil, but give thought to do what is honorable in the sight of all. If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all. Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.” To the contrary, “if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink; for by so doing you will heap burning coals on his head.” Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good. (Romans 12:9-21 ESV)
Once again, notice how the genuine (unhypocritical) love of Spirit-indwelled, Spirit-led believers is described:
- holding fast to good
- loving one another
- honoring one another
- serving the Lord fervently
- rejoicing
- patient
- praying
- giving to needy believers
- being hospitable (loving strangers)
- blessing
- living in harmony
- humble
- doing what is honorable
- living in peace with all
This is how the church of God should live. This description should characterize each believer and each group of beleivers.
Over the last few days, I have been asking myself which of these characteristics are evident in my life and which characteristics are absent. I can look back over the last few years and see where God has grown me and changed me. But, I can also see where I am not living as God intends. Specifically, God is still teaching me how to show hospitality (that is, love for strangers as opposed to love for those who I already know and love) and how to give to those who are in need. Perhaps, most of all, this is showing me areas in my life where I am not submitting to the presence of God.
As Joel pointed out in a recent post, we must begin with a proper understanind of who we are in Christ. I would also add that we should also recognize the awesome power and presence of the Holy Spirit who indwells us and changes us from the inside out.
Beginning with this understanding, I am going to ask you the same question that I have been asking myself: Meditating on the description of the unhypocritical (genuine) love of Romans 12:9-21, where is God still working in your life? In what ways are you not submitting to God’s presence in your life?
stories: Some things are more important than your plans
This post is part of my “stories” series. In this series, I share stories of how people live their lives in response to the gospel and as a demonstration of God’s love in order to teach us and to provide an example to provoke us to love and good works. (See “stories: A New Series” for more information about this series.)
My blogging friend Joe (JR) from “More than Cake” gave me permission to publish his blog post “Some things are more important than your plans” as part of this series. Here is Joe’s post:
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Ready to give my final sales pitch of the day, I walked up to the long driveway hoping I could pull the day out of the dumpster and set one good lead. The door was open, so I knocked on the old brown screen door.
An older man come to the door asking, “who are you?â€
“My name is Joe, how are you today sir?â€
“Not so good.†he said with a surprising honesty. “My wife of 70 years just died on August 8th. We celebrated our 70th anniversary on July 8th.â€
The man suddenly seemed older and more tired then when he first appeared at the door.
“I am sorry to hear of your loss.†I said.
The man asked, “What are you selling?â€
I had a sudden and keen awareness that what I was selling had no meaning compared to the loss and grief this man was experiencing. “Nothing of importance, sir.†I paused for a moment and added, “May I pray for you instead?â€
“Yes, please come in.â€
The old man seemed glad for the company and walked with a bit more energy as he led me into his living room. We sat and talked for quite some time as my partner waited outside wondering where I had gone.
Gene was a kindly gentleman. He talked about his wife, his kids and how his life had changed since the death of his beloved wife. More than once, Gene’s eyes filled with tears as he looked off into the distance at nothing and contemplated moving on without Helen.
“I need to go, but can I pray with you now?†I asked.
Gene gladly accepted. I walked to his chair and took his cold hand in mine. I uttered what few words would come to mind… words of healing… words of hope… words of Jesus’ love for Gene and his departed wife Helen.
My conversation with Gene reminded me that there are many things more important than setting one more lead and earning a few more dollars.
What are the most valuable things in your life?
Do your daily choices reflect your values?
stories: Helping others serve
This post is part of my “stories” series. In this series, I share stories of how people live their lives in response to the gospel and as a demonstration of God’s love in order to teach us and to provide an example to provoke us to love and good works. (See “stories: A New Series” for more information about this series.)
As most of my regular readers know, my family spends time with some people in “The Neighborhood” – a government assisted housing project. Not only has this given us the opportunity to get to know and to serve some wonderful people, it has also given us the opportunity to help others serve.
For example, on most Saturdays when we go to the Neighborhood, one or two people go with us. Sometimes, these friends will end up spending alot of time in the Neighborhood. Sometimes, they’ll only go with us once or twice. Either way, we are able to help them learn to serve others and to help them learn how God wants them to serve.
Also, recently, several families that we know have started giving us vegetables to take to our friends in the Neighborhood. When we started going last Summer, we would buy fresh produce from a roadside produce stand. We divided the produce into small bags and gave a bag to each family that we talk to in the Neighborhood.
Starting last month, three different families have started giving us produce from their own gardens to take to our friends on Saturday. They’ve given us cucumbers, zucchini, squash, tomatoes, and peppers. Plus another family has offered to give us more vegetables, but our schedules haven’t worked out yet.
We’re grateful not only for the free vegetables to give to our friends, but we’re grateful that others are learning to think about how to serve others. Giving away part of the blessings that God has given to us is a great way to serve!
Finally, we have been completely surprised the last couple of weeks. When we went to our local produce stand, the lady that runs the stand offered us some baskets to deliver our produce in! This was great! The baskets are much better than the plastic grocery bags we’ve been using. Plus, she gave us some banana peppers to give away.
The next week, once again, she gave us some baskets, plus several cantaloupes and watermelons. In fact, we think she gave us more produce than we bought last Saturday.
We do not know the people who run the produce stand very well – not yet anyway – but we’re excited that they are also serving others through us. Plus, our friends in the Neighborhood have been very excited about the baskets. We also have the joy of telling them that our friends and the people who run the produce stand helped provide the fruit and vegetables.
So, when you are serving others, think about ways that you can include friends in your service. Allow your service to be a time for discipleship as well as service.
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If you would like for me to include your story in this series, please send me an email at aknox [at] sebts [dot] edu.
Why are Christians generally inconsiderate of others?
David Nelson, Academic Dean of Southeastern Seminary, has written an important post called “Neighbor Love and the Considerate Traveler.” In this post, he exhorts Christians to exhibit love and consideration towards others while traveling with the following:
- Watch the volume of your voice.
- Be aware of the nature of your laughter.
- Beware of slamming hotel doors.
- Be careful about late night (and early morning) noise.
- Be charitable about your place in line.
- Don’t be obnoxious about seat backs on planes.
- Don’t be a jerk to airline or hotel employees (or anyone else).
These exhortations seem obvious. In fact, these are the elementary ways that a Christians is supposed to demonstrate love. He didn’t even mention opening your home to strangers (hospitality) or giving of your own resources to someone who is in need. But, it is also obvious that Americans (including Christian Americans) are known around the world for being obnoxious and inconsiderate – unloving.
Is this true? Are Christians generally inconsiderate of others? How is this possible if the primary characteristc of all Christians is supposed to be love? If we need to be exhorted to patient while standing in line, is there hope for Christians to truly show sacrificial love?
stories: Loving those who are hard to love
This post is part of my “stories” series. In this series, I share stories of how people live their lives in response to the gospel and as a demonstration of God’s love in order to teach us and to provide an example to provoke us to love and good works. (See “stories: A New Series” for more information about this series.)
My friend J. is a great example of making friends with and loving those who appear to be difficult to love. I’ve written about J. before in my posts “Pastor of a Restaurant?” and “stories: Gospel and community and pizza.”
J. works at a local Italian restaurant, and he’s become friends with many of his coworkers, even those that are (in his words) “a little rough.” They are not believers. He spends time with many of the young men, and even helps out when there are deaths or sicknesses in their families.
Recently, J. married R. He said that he was a little concerned about how she would handle his “rough” friends. He said they are the kind of friends who will come into the house without knocking.
He told the story of one young man who came into their house one afternoon after changing the oil in his car. As you can imagine his hands and clothes were covered in oil. When he came into the house, he left the door open and let in a few flies. R. was trying to kill the flies, and the young man decided to help. Instead, he left an oil streak smeared down the wall. R. thanked him for his help, then ushered him into their bathroom for a shower. J. said this is just the kind of love that this young man needed.
A few days later, the same young man and his girlfriend came to J. and R.’s house for a cookout. The girlfriend was just as rough as the young man, and her language was probably rougher. The young man told the girlfriend not to talk that way, because J. and R. were Christians. (Neither J. nor R. had ever told the young man to stop using certain words because they were Christians, so they were surprised.) The girlfriend became very quiet and withdrawn after the young man’s rebuke.
J. took the young man out back to finish grilling and left R. alone in the house with the girlfriend. By the time J. returned, R. had made the girl feel at home and welcomed. They were talking and laughing and enjoying one another’s company. When the young man and his girlfriend left that evening, the girlfriend hugged R. like that were longtime friends.
J. and R. are great examples of accepting and welcoming people into our homes who may be “rougher” than we would like. They are great examples of loving people and teaching them things they need to know (like when to take a shower). Plus, knowing J. and R., this young man and his girlfriend not only saw a great demonstrate of Jesus’ love and acceptance, they heard about Jesus as well.
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If you would like for me to include your story in this series, please send me an email at aknox [at] sebts [dot] edu.
Love one another
Three years ago, our family moved out of on-campus seminary housing and into a house. Around that same time, five families who were part of our church moved. Our church became very adept at packing and unpacking, loading and unloading. During one move a little later, we helped some of our friends move. When we finished, we noticed one of the neighbors was packing a moving truck. The husband and wife were trying to pack up by themselves. We all went over – more than twenty of us – and packed their moving truck for them.
Anyway, back to the story… as I said, we moved three years. The church helped us, and it was an incredible demonstration of love for our family. I wrote a quick blog post about it then called “Love one another“. Today, I am even more convinced that the love we are commanded to share with one another and with our neighbors is a real, demonstrable, working, sweating kind of love.
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There have been a couple of blog entries concerning the life of our church over the last week and love for another (for example, see Theron Stancil’s entry and Alice C.’s entry, and a related article by Isabel here). Last Saturday, we were the recipients of Christian love. We moved from seminary housing to a real house in a nearby city. Our brothers and sisters began arriving at our duplex by 9:00 a.m. to help us move. Many worked tirelessly moving boxes and furniture. Others provided meals (breakfast, lunch, and dinner) for our family and those helping (with enough leftovers to feed our family for a couple of days). Since we could only rent a small moving truck (apparently last weekend was the busiest moving weekend of the year), we had to make two trips. Our friends not only helped us load and unload the truck twice, but they also stayed to help us set up the new house. (Yes, we still have boxes to unpack, but we can live in the house as it is.) Some stayed until after 9:00 p.m. helping us. But that’s not all… we also had help cleaning our duplex on Monday!
So, why did I go into all of that? Well, let me start with a few passages of Scripture…
Jesus said to him, ” ‘You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets.” (Matthew 22:37-40)
A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another. (John 13:34-35)
This is My commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. (John 15:12, 17)
For you, brethren, have been called to liberty; only do not use liberty as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another. (Galatians 5:13)
For this is the message that you heard from the beginning, that we should love one another… (1 John 3:11)
Sure… we’ve heard these commands to “love one another” since we were children. But how often have you (or I) been the recipients of true love… love that is patient, kind… love that demonstrates itself in unselfish ways… love that gives and gives and gives… love that lifts and carries and sweats and aches… love that sacrifices time and effort… Over the last few days, as I’ve contemplated this demonstration of love, several other Scripture passages have come to mind:
By this we know love, because He laid down His life for us. And we also ought to lay down our lives for the brethren. But whoever has this world’s goods, and sees his brother in need, and shuts up his heart from him, how does the love of God abide in him? My little children, let us not love in word or in tongue, but in deed and in truth. (1 John 3:16-18)
If a brother or sister is naked and destitute of daily food, and one of you says to them, “Depart in peace, be warmed and filled,” but you do not give them the things which are needed for the body, what does it profit? Thus also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead. (James 2:15-17)
Certainly, we were not naked nor destitute of daily food, but we were in real, physical need, and the love of Christ was demonstrated to us in real, physical ways. Isn’t it amazing that James uses this (a physical demonstration of love) as one of the visible manifestations of true faith? So, our family has been the recipients of real, biblical, Christ-honoring love.
So what? Do we thank God for His goodness and go on with our lives? Well, that brings me to the last passage of Scripture:
And let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works, not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching. (Hebrews 10:24-25)
You see, as our church gathered on Saturday (yes, I did mean Saturday) in order to move us, we were encouraged (exhorted). We were stirred up and provoked to provide the same type of love to others. It is our prayer that God provides opportunities for us to love our neighbors in similar ways. Through our loving deeds and words (not just loving deeds and not just words!), perhaps some of them will come to recognize that it is not the Knox family alone that loves them, but it is God who loves them through us.
stories: Caring for friends and their dogs
This post is part of my “stories” series. In this series, I share stories of how people live their lives in response to the gospel and as a demonstration of God’s love in order to teach us and to provide an example to provoke us to love and good works. (See “stories: A New Series” for more information about this series.)
In this series, I usually write about ways that I serve other people. Today, I want to do something a little different. I’m going to tell about how some friends served me, my family, and some other friends recently. It may seem insignificant to some, but it was very significant to us and our friends.
Last week, our family traveled to Alabama and Georgia to spend time with our family. Some friends of ours (the H. family) volunteered to take care of our house and our dogs while we were gone. It was very hot, so they said one or more members of their family would stay at our house so they could let our dogs go outside and come inside regularly during the day.
The week before we were planning to leave, Maël’s (pronounced like Ishmael without the Ish) grandfather passed away. Maël’s family lives in Italy. He was not able to travel back for the funeral, but he wanted to go back the week after the funeral in order to spend time with his grandmother.
This means that Maël and Cindy would be away from home the same week that we were away from home. They also have two dogs. So, our friends, (the H. family), offered to take care of their dogs and their house while they were gone as well.
The four members of the H. family traveled back and forth between our house and Maël and Cindy’s house and their house. Each night, some of them would sleep in each house. They were willing to spend time away from one another for a week so that they could care for their friends and their friends’ dogs.
Why would they do this? I’m convinced they were willing to spend their week traveling back and forth between houses to let our dogs in and out of the house, and spend their week sleeping in different houses because they love us and because they love Maël and Cindy.
Demonstrating love is not always about doing the great things (although this was a very great things for us)! Many times, demonstrating love is simply about knowing the people and serving them in the way they need and desire to be served.
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If you would like for me to include your story in this series, please send me an email at aknox [at] sebts [dot] edu.
stories: I love you, and I’m glad you’re not dead
This post is part of my “stories” series. In this series, I share stories of how people live their lives in response to the gospel and as a demonstration of God’s love in order to teach us and to provide an example to provoke us to love and good works. (See “stories: A New Series” for more information about this series.)
Ms. Jennie has had a rough time lately. She is the 85 year old lady from New York who lives in a local nursing home and who my family spends time with each week. About a month ago, she developed pneumonia. She had not been sick, but she woke up in the middle of the night unable to breathe. She has been on oxygen off and on for the last several weeks.
She’s also had hip problems. Her hip has been hurting her alot, and she’s been taking pain medicine that makes her groggy. She has to shift positions often because of her hip.
During the last few weeks, when we’ve visited her, we’ve been unable to stay for very long because of her breathing problems, or because her hip was hurting, or because she became groggy from her pain medicine.
But, the last time that I visited with her, she was back to her normal self. Her breathing was back to normal, and they had taken the oxygen tanks out of her room. She had had a few physical therapy sessions, and her hip was feeling much better.
When I walked in the room she smiled at me and immediately began talking. She talked about things that had happened over the last few weeks – things she had not been able to talk about before because of her breathing and her hip.
She also wanted to talk about “religious things”. This is always somewhat funny to me, because she starts by saying that she does not talk “religion” with anyone but me. She says that she tells people, “If I want to talk about religious things then I’ll talk to Alan.” I asked her why she talks with me but not with other people, and she says, “Because I know you care about me”.
While we were talking about God, she started talking about her children again. She’s angry with God because “he took” her sons in separate automobile accidents when they were both twenty-one. She also has a daughter, but her daughter is not “good” like her sons, at least according to Ms. Jennie.
She was almost in tears when she told me that her daughter once threw hot coffee in her face and yelled at her, “I hate you! I wish you were dead!”
I told her that I can’t imagine the pain that that caused. I told her that I could imagine Miranda telling me that. It would break my heart.
Then I said, “I know that I can’t make up for what your daughter did and said to you. I don’t want to try to make up for it. But, I want you to know that I love you, and I’m glad that you’re not dead”. She smiled again in spite of the pain that her memories had caused.
I don’t know why God has chosen me to love Ms. Jennie. I pray that God will use my relationship with her and my words to her to bring Ms. Jennie to himself. Only he can do that. All I can do is make myself available to him and to her.
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If you would like for me to include your story in this series, please send me an email at aknox [at] sebts [dot] edu.
stories: Still serving Ethiopians
This post is part of my “stories” series. In this series, I share stories of how people live their lives in response to the gospel and as a demonstration of God’s love in order to teach us and to provide an example to provoke us to love and good works. (See “stories: A New Series” for more information about this series.)
The following story comes from the blog of Dave Black. I mentioned Dave and Becky Lynn Black a few months ago in my post “stories: Loving and serving Ethiopians“. A few days ago, the Blacks returned from a three week trip to Ethiopia. They have already started writing about their trip. This is one of his stories (from Tuesday, June 16, 2009 at 7:15 a.m.):
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To travel to Ethiopia is to be plunged headlong into more deprivation and hunger than most of us have ever witnessed. In my experience, only India comes close. I am very much aware that there are so many needs and so little I can do about them. This morning I would like to tell you the story of two forgotten people with whom I share this finite planet.
Zemete is a married woman in Alaba and the mother of 3 children.
When I first met her 5 years ago, she was in desperate need of fistula surgery. She could control neither her bladder nor her bowel movements. She was totally ostracized from her family and friends in her small village of Kuke. Becky and I were to able see that she got to Addis and into the excellent fistula hospital there, where she had a successful operation. That is not the end of the story, however. Upon returning to her home her husband forced himself upon her even though he knew he had to refrain from all intimacy with her for a period of several months. Since that time, the fistula has tragically reappeared. I met with Zemete two weeks ago. I am eager to have her return to the capital for another operation. But it would be senseless to do so without first getting her husband’s agreement that he will cooperate this time. He claims to be a follower of Jesus, but this is quite impossible in my mind. No man who treats his wife in that manner can be a true Christian. The elders are even now talking with him.
The other woman I want you to meet is Fatima Mohammed. She is a recent convert to Christianity. She lives in the hillside village of Galaye.
[S]he is blind in her left eye and partially blind in her right. I think Fatima is 15 years old, but most villagers have no idea when their birthday is. Last year she lost her parents to starvation. She now lives with her older brother, a simple farmer.
As I think of such suffering, my theologian brain tries to make sense of it all. On one level, all of this is the consequence of the fall. And, since God is absolutely sovereign, He controls the situation completely. That’s true of every person in this world. Nothing takes Him by surprise, including our illnesses and diseases. Whenever I go to Ethiopia I consistently realize the impact of sin in this world. But not only in Africa. There are no boundaries when it comes to heartache and grief. Life hurts!
On another level, however, I know that suffering has a purpose. At the very least, it is God calling me to get involved in the lives of others. He wants me to be like Jesus who left comfort behind to serve the lepers in society. In Ethiopian society, both Zemete and Fatima are absolute NOBODIES. But in God’s eyes they are huge SOMEBODIES. So, while there’s sadness and pain in joining in the sufferings of other people, there is also the joy of knowing that the God of all comfort, the Father of compassion, is right there with us all.
Why I am sharing this with you? I don’t really know. Maybe it’s because I’m feeling the post-trip blues. Maybe it’s because I just need to jangle. I think mostly it’s because I just want you to pray. Pray for your sisters in Christ, Zemete and Fatima. Missions is hugely demanding. The joyous frustration is constant and irrevocable. Personally, I wouldn’t want to live any other way.
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If you would like for me to include your story in this series, please send me an email at aknox [at] sebts [dot] edu.
stories: Tell Your Story
Since the beginning of this year, I’ve been publishing a series of blog posts called “stories“. In this series, I’ve been sharing experiences that people have had serving others in big ways and small ways. Some of these experiences have been my own; some have been the experiences of my friends; some have been the experiences of readers who have sent their stories to me.
The purpose of this series is to provide examples to encourage each of us to follow Jesus by serving those around us – both believers and unbelievers. We see in Scripture that the authors often use their own experiences to encourage their readers to do likewise. Similarly, we are exhorted by the author of Hebrews to consider one another in order to stir up love and good works. Hopefully, this series has been a method of exhortation toward love and good works for my readers.
Now, I want to give you, my readers, another opportunity to share your stories. The stories can be short or long, big or small, individual actions or group actions. Simply email me your story (my email address is aknox [at] sebts [dot] edu) and tell me if you would like to remain anonymous or not, and if you would like me to link to your blog or website.
Some of my readers have told me that they are reluctant to share their own stories because they are afraid that it would be seen as boasting. Here is an opportunity to share your stories in a way that cannot be perceived as boasting (if you do it anonymously) and yet can still encourage other believers to follow Jesus Christ in serving others.
So, here is your opportunity. Think about what God has done through your to serve others. Consider the people who may read your story and be exhorted to serve likewise. Then, if you feel comfortable, send me your story, and I’ll publish it here.
This type of “story” reinforces that teaching is by example as much as by words, and the importance of “doing” not just “talking” or “studying” or “thinking”.