So, there is this strip of land between Thailand and Burma (Myanmar) called “No Man’s Land”. It is on the Thai side of the river, but both countries have fought over this strip of land so now neither claim it as their own. It is in this strip of land that a few hundred outcasts live, meaning people who have been kicked out of their village, most (all?) of them Burmese. It is also in this land that there is complete lawlessness. Anything and everything happens there, nothing is really a surprise. There is one man who is essentially the chief of this area and he essentially dictates the “laws”, what he says goes. Beyond that, it is a normal impoverished area. Very private, tarp-covered shantys hidden amongst brush and bushes. Families, men, women, and children, young and old, “No Man’s Land” does not discriminate. The one common denominator?? These people are not wanted… kicked out of their villages in Burma, and Thailand does not want them. It is quite sad, but there is hope.
Part of our ministry this month is meeting with people doing ministry in this area and helping them out. We went to the edge of “No Man’s Land”, but remained in Thailand, and learned about the area and just the heart behind doing ministry to these people in as tiny ways as possible. It was during this time that it struck me, “No Man’s Land” is going to someday be “One Man’s Land”. I envisioned an area that still might be full of the destitute and unwanted of society, but an area that God claims as His own, an area that God has transformed, where light shines into No Man’s Land and then out to Thailand and Burma. I envisioned ministry, full-blown, abundant ministry, happening in this area where no one really goes into. I envisioned people living into the Truth that “they are known”, “they are loved”, “they do matter”, “they matter to the one who truly matters and whose ‘opinion’ truly matters, God, because God doesn’t really have opinions, He just has Truth”. And the Truth is that these lawless people, these forgotten, rejected, destitute people are loved by the Father just as much as you and I. Jesus died for them as much as He died for you and me. God created the world for them to enjoy as much as for us to enjoy. They are sinners just like you and me. They are forgiven just like you and me. They are loved just like you and me. We are the same. That is the Truth.
Last month in the Philippines my team really discussed the idea of identity and how we identify ourselves (and others too, but specifically ourselves). And it just really weighed on me as I looked out on a strip of land that held a few hundred people who are negatively identified by nearly everyone… BUT… BUT, a few faithful ministers have not forgotten these people and do not condemn them for their sins. As Christ says in John 8:10-11 to the woman caught in adultery, “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?” 11 “No one, sir,” she said. “Then neither do I condemn you,” Jesus declared. “Go now and leave your life of sin.”
It is not my job to condemn these people. They are sinners just like me. But it is my job to love them and love them well. In reality, I probably won’t meet many of them accept for a dozen or two who sell goods right on the border of Thailand and “No Man’s Land” so that people don’t enter No Man’s Land and they don’t enter Thailand (technically… illegally). I believe that Christ has much in store for this area and for these people and I invite you to pray and pray hard and pray diligently that Christ’s light would truly shine on these people and in this area and that walls would be broken down that these people may no longer identify with their past or present sins, but they may identify with the forgiveness, redemption, and Truth of who they are in Jesus Christ. AND that God may redeem this whole land, this whole area for Him, so that no longer will it be known as “No Man’s Land” but it may be known as “One Man’s Land”!
And in reality, may we all do the same, that we may no longer identify with our mistakes and sins, but with who we are as children of God.
