The world is not a sanctuary. There are criminals, pain, illness, injustice and oppression. These things are everywhere you look sometimes. They can run you down duller than a second grader’s pencil if you let them. Grace is a lot harder to practice in this kind of environment, but it is all the more necessary. For the past few weeks I have been living in a country oppressed by fear, it’s been hard to wake up some mornings knowing that I can’t openly express myself or openly praise God. Everyday He reveals Himself, reminding me that He is the God of the oppressed, the ill, those who suffer from injustice and from pain. He is their savior, He is their hope and He is there, He is present. When I go to the baby house and see one of the rambunctious two-year-old boys caress the hair of one of the infants, when I find out that several of them have been adopted into loving homes. He’s in those moments and in those actions. I walk in to help out at a woman who has been there since 5:00 AM the day before and she still picks up the pouting child and nuzzles them lovingly, she changes their diapers, feeds them and chases them everywhere. Why do toddlers love electric wires? Her sacrificial love emulates Christ’s. Does she know Him? I don’t know honestly. We usually communicate with a few words and gestures. I walk back out into the smoggy, every building looks exactly like the other one, honking, zooming, world and remind myself that the world is not a sanctuary, but it’s my duty to bring the presence of Christ to as many people in the world as possible. That Christ has called each of us to that, wherever that may be, we are called to bring the hope of His love and justice. I don’t know what God has in store for me tomorrow, a month from now or a year from now, but I do know that I will do my best to follow Him and bring Him glory.
