A woman with a giant lump on her neck approaches me and Brook and gestures for us to go to her house. We followed her into her chalet and realized that we entered the home of the chief of the villagers. Wow, the chief! He didn’t look like we saw him last time. This time, he had an exhausted look on his face as he leaned up against the side of the bamboo wall. They wanted us to pray for the chief because he has been sick with a headache and a bad cough. After we prayed for him to get well, they brought us four more children to pray for. We never would’ve gotten this opportunity to step into a house of such authority if we didn’t choose to visit the community on a more regular basis.
Too often, we have distinguished investing in our relationship with God from the investment in others. The debate should not be “Which is more important?” because loving others is a key to developing a relationship with Jesus. Knowing who Jesus is will always demand our obedience to his command to love one another as ourselves. It is not a call to comfort or security, but to a lifestyle that demands faith and sacrifice. If we are only sitting back to study the Bible and do church activities, but fail to connect with those outside the church, we ultimately fail to obey God’s commission in Matthew 28:19 and Acts 1:8. From my experience in the jungle, I’ve learned that no difference between you and another person is too great for you to say no to loving them. We had a language barrier as our greatest obstacle to communicating with them, but God can work despite any difference we have from people. The question isn’t in regards to what the obstacles are, but how far are you willing to go for the ones Jesus died for? Jesus is on mission, are we on the move with him to the people he seeks to love or making excuses? We met this lady in the community named Simbang whose daughter passed away two months ago, but she still worshipped Jesus joyfully. Even though we were sent to serve at the jungle, I believe she is the most powerful witness there because they see her every day. The mission field isn’t about going somewhere, the most powerful missions trip you can engage in is with those around you. I see how powerful of a witness you guys can be because that’s what God says you are in Matthew 5:14
“You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden.”
“You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden.”
