One of the more eye opening things I've learned on the race is that God reveals himself to those who want to see him.
“Without faith it is impossible to please God, for whoever comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who diligently search for him. -Hebrews 11:6
There are countries like America where 80% of the citizens claim to have faith in Christianity. Contrarily, there are countries with people groups that have never heard the name, Jesus Christ (India, Nepal). If you were to ask an American if they knew who Jesus was, I would bet that 99% of them would reply, “yes.” I don't doubt that they've heard of Jesus; he's pretty popular. But do they really know who he is? Surprisingly, the responses of the people living in remote villages of India and Nepal were different. “Do you know who Jesus Christ is?” “No.” “You've never heard of Jesus?” “No..who is that?” They had never heard of the freedom they have in Jesus, yet the hunger they have for the truth was humbling. What was even more humbling than their eagerness to know the Lord, was the Lord's response to their desire.
Entry in my diary:
“When we travel to the villages these isolated people are eager to hear the truth, and therefore, Jesus moves. Because we carry the spirit of the Lord within us, things change when we arrive, and before we leave. Things happen under our hands by the mention of His name.”
Short story:
In one of the first villages we visited in India, we were asked to pray over many sick people. However, there was one sick man who stood out from the rest. This man was a paralytic. He sat up stiffly on a cot his family had pulled out for him so he could sit outside. My first thoughts were doubtful. “Man, I'm not sure what we can say to this man…” I soon realized, the family was expecting God to heal their father and they wanted us to pray. I know God heals people in the Bible, but healings are very foreign to me.
We started praying, and I found myself saying things like, “Lord, I'm not sure what to say here, but if it's your will, will you heal this man? Let him walk again.” What do you say to get a paralyzed man walking again?! We finished praying, and left the man with his family.
The next morning, I was reading through my Bible. I flipped it open to where I had left off last. Can you guess what I was to read next? Matthew 9, “Jesus Heals the Paralytic.” Interested, I read through the short story two or three times to make sure I understood it correctly. Jesus simply tells the man, “Take heart, your sins are forgiven.” He argues a little bit with the pharisees then gets back to the paralytic. He says, “Get up, take your mat, and go home.” The man gets up, and walks home. Um, what?! That's it? Jesus forgives the man, commands him to walk, and the paralytic is healed.
About a week later we were visiting another village. It was getting late, but the village pastor wanted us to pray for some families before we left. Jon and I were paired up. We walked up to our 3rd house, and low and behold, there's a man sitting up right in his cot. He cannot move anything but his eyes; he was paralyzed. The man was settled down on his back with his legs up and crossed. As Jon rested his hand on the man's shoulder, I decided to get on the man's level. I knelt down beside his cot, took the man's hand, and we began to pray. My prayer went a little like this, “God… We thank you for the cross, and for your son Jesus Christ. We thank you for forgiving us of all our sins. Right now, I pray for this man. I pray that he comes to know you as his savior, and in that, he is forgiven of all his sins. God, all we have to do is ask, and you can move mountains. We know you are a God of Healing. I pray that this man would be healed. I command him to get up, and walk in the name of Jesus.”
We were about done praying when I felt movement under my hands. I opened my eyes to see the man's legs had stretched out. Not completely limber, but they were no longer upright and crossed. Jon and I looked at each other, a little confused. Our translator quickly rushed us out to get to the next home so we didn't have time to think much of anything. It wasn't till we were walking out of another home that Jon stopped and asked the translator, “could that paralyzed man stretch his legs out like that before?” Our translator said, “no” and rushed us to keep moving again.”
I tell you this story because like my country, the reality of God and his power had become nonchalant to me. I was surprised that He had chosen to heal that paralytic. Did I think that He couldn't? No, but my faith had become so casual that my thoughts about God were limiting. Why doesn't God show himself in America like he does in India or Nepal? Seeing the realness of the faith of the people in countries where Christianity is fairly new put things into perspective for me. Do people seek God whole heartedly like this in my country?
As missionaries continue to venture out into unreached countries, more and more people will hear the Gospel, and put their faith in Christ. When all ears have heard, Christ will only return to claim those who believe in him. Think about this: in countries like Nepal and India (top countries with the most concentrated areas of people who have never heard of Jesus) people are being reached out to more and more. Furthermore, they are hearing the Gospel for the first time and turning to Christ without thinking twice about it. On the other hand we have America. A country that was founded on the Christianity, but the citizens have merely taken the importance of living life for Christ as a joke.
Matthew 24:14 says that, “the gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.” It's not until every nation has had the chance to hear the name of Jesus, that He will return. While almost everyone in America has heard about Christianity, practicing their faith is brushed aside. Then there's countries with people who are hearing the Gospel for the first time, and their faith is undeniable. If Heaven and hell are our reality, missionaries might have more work to do in their own backyards than they have overseas.
“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and in your name perform many miracles?’ Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’ -Matthew 7:21-23
