– This is the first of a few blogs I wrote last month in Swaziland, which I will post in the next couple days. –
The first day of ministry at El Shaddai children’s home, we did not yet have structure for the day, so I headed to the baby house to meet some of the children.
I was reminded of James 1:27 as I walked past the fence surrounding the play area, and was instantly greeted by a dozen chubby cheeks covered in dirt, drool, and leftover snack dust that dripped down to cheery, contagious smiles. The first girl to come up to me was a precious little chunker with attitude to spare. She stretched her arms out to me with a dramatic slump of despair – in the most adorable way possible. As I swept her into my arms I instantly noticed something was wrong. Her little bum was sopping wet, as was the hem of her dress: she was covered in pee. Before I realized it, I found myself holding this precious girl at her armpits an arm’s length away from me, staring in bewilderment, and having no idea what to do. I had pictured the idyllic version of cuddling with adorable children and reading books; I had NOT pictured myself covered in someone else’s pee.
But then, in what I can honestly say was one of the very few times it’s happened in my life, I heard the almost-audible voice of God. It reminded me of the verse I had thought about only moments earlier.
“‘Religion that God our Father accepts as pure is this: that you care for orphans…’ I
did not say ‘unless they are covered in pee’”
This realization hit me hard. The Word of God was not written with clauses. It doesn’t say to “do all things without grumbling… unless you don’t like your work”; it doesn’t say “if your enemy asks for your coat, give him your cloak as well… unless he doesn’t deserve it, or is being a jerk”; and it doesn’t say to “pick up your cross and follow me… unless you didn’t get a day off this week”
We as Christians so often life our lives as if the Word of God has clauses, we write off our selfishness, laziness, and pride as things that God pardons because he understands our situation. But I don’t think I see evidence for that in the Scriptures. Living your life without Biblical clauses might mean you’ll end up being taken advantage of, it might mean you’ll get laughed at, it might mean you’ll be covered in a little girl’s pee. The Christian life might just mean that every day you’ll bend down with blistered hands to grab the back-breaking, heavy, blood and sweat-soaked cross, to lift it to your scarred, swollen shoulders, and to put one wary foot in front of the other as you follow your Savoir. Why?
“You see that a man is justified by works and not by faith alone… just as the body without the
spirit is dead, so also faith without works is dead.” (James 2:24, 26)
That day in the baby house, I didn’t leave that little girl alone because of her situation. I had one of the ‘Aunties’ help me change her pants, and then I cuddled that hem-still-soaked little girl as she fell asleep on my shoulder and drool rolled down my back. That wasn’t the last time I encountered a kid with a wet booty that month, and each time I had to remind myself of God’s promises and His love for them.
I’m not perfect at living this kind of life for God, and I feel I may never be. I am still selfish, prideful, and lazy, but I refuse to pretend that there are clauses in the Bible to justify my actions.
