This week my team and I participated in a “secret church” put on by the local missionaries here. The point of it was to give us an idea of what it is like to be persecuted for being Christian. There were no big screens, fancy lights, comfy chairs, and especially no air conditioning. It was most definitely uncomfortable, but I absolutely loved every sweaty minute of it. We are blessed to have freedom of religion in the states, but I couldn’t stop thinking, “If this was my church every week would I keep coming back?” I’m not saying the comforts that we are accustomed to are bad things, but if God took away what is comfortable to us, would He still be pursued? I believe what you put into your faith is what you get out of it. Getting distracted from your purpose is inevitable. We have all drifted in life and it’s okay. It’s just important to hold loosely to the things God has given to us. Sometimes when we get stripped down to the basics it’s easier to remember why we fell in love with God in the beginning.
During my time in Thailand I’ve realized how Buddhism has a lot of things that can distract as well. They have so many ginormous, beautiful temples and Buddha statues everywhere that they idolize so much. At first it was a little overwhelming, and these idols were so evident to me that they weren’t of God. However, when I took a step back I noticed some idols in my life as well. My idols are just in hiding, which makes it even harder to recognize them, but they should never be ignored. The difference with Christianity is, I have already been forgiven for worldly things I have fallen in to. I have an incredible Father, and without His love and grace I don’t know how I would function.
A couple of days ago I had the opportunity to talk with some monks. They talked about how they get reincarnated until they reach “enlightenment”, which can take up to 2,000 lifetimes to reach. Enlightenment is the concept that you have to be happy and at peace. I could not help thinking that it sounded a lot like the joy that I receive on a daily basis. I don’t have to be an amazing person or live a spotless life. Joy is something that is beyond our circumstances. It is freely given to me, even though I don’t deserve it.
These monks asked us, when we died and went to heaven if we would want to be reincarnated. To them, they didn’t understand that once you get to meet God there is nothing sweeter, and no temptation could take you away from it. It was an obvious no that we all spat out without giving it a thought. To them, they didn’t understand why we would choose to stay knowing we hadn’t lived a life of “true” enlightenment. They see it as having a bad track record. Imagine, if our life was based off of a point system. It would be exhausting. My whole life is a bad track record with a trail of sins behind me. I can’t imagine living knowing I would not get to heaven. I know that I have been forgiven for everything and God doesn’t hold those sins over my head. He loves me regardless.
What if when we died we got to heaven, and God looked us up and down, and shrugs His shoulders and say, “Eh try again, maybe you’ll do better this time.” It’s almost a comical thought. Anyone who truly knows Him knows how good He is. For the Thai people though, this is what they believe. This is engrained so deeply into their culture. They have a saying here, “To be Thai, is to be Buddhist.” I can just sense so much entrapment here, and it weighs heavy on my heart. The people live in fear of doing no evil, because they do not want to be condemned for their mistakes. They are known by God, but do not know God. If only they knew how freeing life is to walk with Christ. We are so lucky to know the truth and be known by the one true King. I have felt so blessed in ways that I had never seen as a blessing before. As my time here in Thailand begins to come to an end please continue to pray not only for the people of Thailand, but for the future generations to see past their culture and break free of tradition.
For those of you who made it through this lengthy blog thank you!
Blessings, Ellie:)
