Antigua…What an amazing, old city. It’s like Europe (so I’ve been told) in Latin America. The old spanish architecture is incredible and the picture is completed with cobblestone streets. There is a language school on every corner and the random cooking or dance school scattered here and there. Tourist abound, as does global cuisine. My favorite though, is eating the local hot, handmade tortillas fresh off the grill. You can’t eat just one!
Over and over this week the Lord has been speaking to us individually and corporately about the phenomenon of “just being.” Receive God’s love and let it pour out of you continuously to everyone you come in contact with. Especially since we are only in Antigua for one week before heading to Nicaragua. What we DO will most likely not make a lasting impact…but who we ARE will touch peoples souls for eternity. It is in our very ‘being’ – dwelling in the house of the Lord – that He is able to shower this town with his love. It’s not about anything I do. It’s actually about me dying to self – to my old way of living – and accepting the new heart that God so graciously gives to his sons and daughters who are eager to receive his love and affection.
Antigua needs to die to its old self. It’s a beautiful city on the outside, but I feel that even the name – Antigua (old) – is holding the people captive to being able to recieve their new heart – their new life in christ. There definitely is a spirit of revival taking place, but at the same time, for the majority of the people, the old way of thinking is being passed down from generation to generation. It’s preventing the people from taking their inheritance in the Kingdom.
Truthfully, this is frustrating to see. Especially when the Lord is calling us “to be”. But God is faithful. He has opened doors to set the captives free by “being Christ’s hands, feet, ears and heart” to the people around us: to the beggars, to the artisans on the streets, to the fruit vendors, to the 15 year old boy who has been trapped in a life of huffing for the past four years, to the kids and teachers at a local school, to our teammates…
Last night at a church service, I was reminded once more of how much God loves me. He desires me. This is a living relationship, but one that will die if I do not love in return. Love God first and foremost – and love my brothers and sisters as a result of God’s love for me and my love for him bubbling over from a joyful heart.
