A few nights back we were worshipping with our whole squad in a coffee shop in Themal, Nepal. There, we were all given a word written on a notecard. Mine said:
Witness.
For some people, the word spoke directly into their hearts but for me, I was like “umm..okay” and then I simply asked God to reveal to me what that word means to me.
It may be a few days later but now I know why.
On the world race there are times we share bible stories and preach to a village or church. But there are times where we don’t. And I think being a witness, living proof, of Jesus’ love is just as important as being an evangelist, if not more so.
This morning we walked through the streets of Nepal to get to a field in the valley. We invited street kids to play soccer and we kicked a ball around for hours. We got kicked in the shins as dust covered our clothes but it was pretty wonderful.
Afterwards, we sat shoulder to shoulder with the street kids as we all ate lunch. I sat next to two boys, Saniel and Bakal. They hardly spoke English, but we oddly found enough to talk about. We talked about soccer and basketball and the Chicago Bulls. They asked what my parent’s names were and when I asked them, it seemed evident that they don’t really know their parents. We ate, pretended to bark like dogs, and chatted and I have no clue how much they even comprehended.
But it’s okay that I don’t know. All I know is that they needed to be cared for and heard. They needed to feel valued and loved even as they crawled all over me and got snot all over my shirt. I know because that is pretty much what everyone wants.
Sometimes Jesus just wants us to be a witness for him, with our ears wide open and our sleeves rolled up. Showing His love through our actions instead of a lengthy sermon or a biblical passage. I think we are supposed to treat people with love and compassion and treat them like they are made in the image of the Creator of this world, because they are.
It doesn’t have to be flashy or profound or a grand gesture. Sometimes we just need to live out our days in a way that proves that Jesus is real and we can love people as a testament to how He first loved us. Sometimes we can just kick a ball around a place that is only a slight resemblance to a soccer field and fill their tummies up and let them know that we care and so does Jesus.
