Nigeria: Day 2 Afternoon – Hope of Abel

    The Israelites being rescued from Egypt through their cry (sa’aq) was just the beginning of their story.  When they were liberated from oppression they ended up at Sinai, and here God spoke to them.  Sinai is where God finally was able to get His people back and drew near to them.  It was by grace that God delivered them and He reminded Moses of that.  It was a gift to His chosen people.  God told the Israelites that they must adhere to His covenant and become the people He created them to be.  Not just religious minded, but do-ers of the word.  He called them to be “priests and a holy nation.â€�  God invited them to be his body here on earth.  To be a true example of God, not just one who says he is a Christian and then doesn’t stand for what it truly means.  God invited them to show the rest of the world what it means to be a believer in Him.  God absolutely needs people who are the true body who embrace Him to the core.
    Rob Bell puts it well, he says, “But God doesn’t just invite them to be priests: he invites them to be a ‘holy nation.’  The word nation takes us back to Genesis.  Genesis is about the progression of sin, violence, and death �” what started with one son killing the other quickly led to an entire civilization in oppositions to God.  And then Exodus begins with the Israelites enslaved by a nation.  Sin always gains a head of steam when it goes unchecked.   And that always leads to institutions and cultures and structures that are anti-kingdom.  This leads to dehumanizing places, like Egypt had become, which these former slaves standing at the base of Sinai know all to well.  And God’s response is to form a different kind of nation, a ’holy’ one shaped not by greed, violence, and abusive power but by compassion, justice, and care for one’s neighbor.  It’s as if God says, ‘You’ve experienced Egypt; now I’m calling you to be the anti-Egypt’.â€�  Today was a perfect example of taking a Egypt type of conflict in Anglo-Jos and how God chose one man to be a “holy nationâ€� for the kingdom.

    This afternoon Kyle took us into Anglo Jos where a lot of conflict has occurred.  Anglo Jos is a small village made up of mainly Christians but is surrounded by Muslims.  Upon driving in we saw all the burnt down homes, blown up cars, and shops that were left empty from the fires.  The pastor’s home was completely burnt right next to the church.  Rebels tried to start the church on fire as well but to no resolve.  The church never lit on fire and was left basically untouched.  Seeing sights like this in the media is one thing, but putting a face on the conflict is something completely different.  That is what happened today when we met the most hopeful man I have ever met named Abel.

    We met Able at his home, well I should say newest home, for his home was one of the ones that was burnt down.  Luckily him and his family survived unharmed, but he lost absolutely everything in that fire.  We sat with Abel at his house while he gave us his encouraging life testimony.  Abel is an Albino, which in Africa, is viewed as the result of witchcraft and many throughout Africa are immediately killed for their ‘powers’.  Abel’s father, upon seeing Abel, wanted absolutely nothing to do with him and would rather him be killed.  Abel’s mother viewed him as a gift from God and therefore named him Abel, or Gift of God.  She stayed by his side and raised him despite what that would mean for their family and the ridicule that would bring.  Abel’s life has been anything but easy.  Abel had constant discrimination while he was growing up.