Earlier this month, I arrived in Nepal and had the incredible opportunity to see Mount Everest. In that moment, I was praying, thanking God for his beautiful creation. I heard him whisper to me in that moment that his hands formed that mountain, and they formed me too. As I’ve spent the past few days hiking up hills in Kathmandu and looking out over this city, I’m reminded of the fact that God formed each of the one million people that live in this city. Most of them are unaware or unconcerned with The God.
People here are steeped in a culture that worships many gods so our hosts pray to The God. In Acts 17, Paul’s “spirit was provoked within him as he saw that the city was full of idols” while he was in Athens. Like Paul, my heart breaks for the people here who worship statues or creation, but as I shared in my first message at a local church, the idolatry here just takes a different form. In America, we may not worship statues, but we do exalt things or people to the place that only God belongs in our lives. I don’t say that to condemn anyone. As I’ve been away from home, God has shown me things in my own heart that need to be put in their proper place.
But as with the Athenians in Acts 17 who spent all their time hearing and telling of new things, our hearts remain restless until they find comfort in God. The Athenians worshiped many different gods, but they still were still looking for something that would actually satisfy. That fulfillment is only found in Jesus, and we will never be satisfied as long as we try to fill that void with anything other than him.
The people of Nepal are surrounded by the majesty of the Himalayan Mountains, a wonder of God’s beautiful creation. Yet they worship idols. We, too, are surrounded by glorious displays of God’s goodness, but we exalt other things in his place. This isn’t a problem just for the people of Nepal. It’s just more obvious here. But as in the early church, God is working here. We have been loved so well by people whose lives have been changed because of Jesus. These people are passionate about serving a God who loves them, not many gods who demand sacrifices and penances to appease their wrath. When you live in a culture where people have to bow their way around a temple seven times to receive forgiveness for their many sins, you have an increased capacity for gratitude for what Christ accomplished on the cross. And when it costs you something to be a Christian, instead of it being the normal thing to do, you aren’t casual about your faith.
I know, as an American, I have often taken religious liberty for granted. But experiencing what it’s like to be in the minority, in both ethnicity and religion, is an eye-opening experience. We have been loved and welcomed by a Hindu family who opened their home to us. We have received incredible hospitality at their hands. I want to love them just as well because I don’t think believing differently is any reason to love someone less. I pray that this month they would see something different in our lives, that they would want to know a God who loves them and sacrificed for them. In fact, that’s my prayer for all of Nepal, and I hope you’ll pray that with me too.
