In one of the poorest countries in the world there is a man. A poor man. Poor even by his own country’s standard. Yet, out of everyone I met in Cambodia, he radiated the most joy. His smile was always the most full of life. His name is Rattana, and the more I think about his situation, the more I come to the conclusion that he is 'The least of these'.
I know at home Christians give a lot of lip service to not being in the world, or to not being in love with the world. We give a lot of lip service to our freedom in Christ and our faith in Him. Yet we also worry a lot, we want a lot and we complain a lot. But not Rattana.
At home many, many Christians spend just as much as non-believers on nice clothes, nice houses, nice cars, nice lots of things. At home many Christians worry just as much as non-believers about their financial status, about where their lives are headed and about what people think of them. But not Rattana.
Rattana is a man who has been transformed by Christ. He is a man with no formal education, no formal job training nor viable skills for work. He is a man who often doesn’t have money to buy food for his wife, her sister and himself. He is a man who often doesn’t know what the next day will hold or where his next meal will come from. And yet…he is full of joy. Every single time I saw him, he was full of joy. He loved to play his drum and sing for us and worship with us. He loved to try and talk to us even though he doesn’t know a single word of English. Truly, he was experiencing LIFE to the full…and doing so while being a very poor man, in a very poor country.
When he has nothing to eat, he goes into the woods to look for food. Maybe he shoots a bird or a rat with a dart gun that he made. Maybe he digs up roots and plants to bring home to use in a stew. Maybe he collects an ant nest, and eats the ants for dinner. Maybe he does something else. The point is…he doesn’t ask for a handout, he doesn’t throw a pity party and he doesn’t question the goodness and faithfulness of his Heavenly Father. Instead, he worships the God who saved his life…with joy. He worships with a thankful heart, thankful for all God has given him.
He is so joyful in Christ that he invited our team over for dinner, which is rare for the Kemhr people because they often can’t afford to have guests over. So we brought fruit, and he provided fried frogs which he caught the night before. And he provided a 3 liter bottle of Coke. That bottle of Coke, which only cost $1.50 was an immense sacrifice on his part. He rarely has money, and when he did, he wanted to spend it on us…to bless us with it instead of himself.
Do you get that? He didn't just give some of his money to his church. He didn't give a little bit to help someone on the side of the road. He took the money that he had, which he rarely has, and spent it on US. Let that sink in for a minute.
That is the kind of life he is living. A life of joy and thankfulness for the grace of God.
I believe that in this life, he really is last. He has a small home, which he built with his own hands, a small farm that doesn’t grow much more than a few onions and chickens, and no real job opportunities. He is considered poor by people we consider poor. Think about that. And then ask yourself…if he can be THRIVING in Christ’s love to the degree that he is….why aren’t we? If he trusts his God fully, everyday, to provide for everything, though his situation is constantly bleak, why don’t we? If he is experiencing JOY and LIFE in Christ, and seeks to worship Him often, though he basically has no material possessions, why is it so hard for us who are incredibly blessed with so much?
If the is the last and the last shall be first, and the first shall be last…what does that say about us? What does that say about us?
I don’t want to over-exaggerate, but…getting to know Rattana, to hear his story, to see how he lives, and to experience joy simply from standing next to him (it’s contagious with him) may have been one of, if not the most, impactful experience of this Race so far.
Thank you Rattana.
