Oh The Wonderful Cross…

Jambo!
(‘Hello’ in Swahili)

This
month our team is in Morogo (Tanzania) partnering with multiple
pastors and local churches. In the mornings we go door-to-door,
sharing the gospel with surrounding neighbors. The weather in
Tanzania is extremely hot, and walking/standing outside in the sun is
exhausting. After the first day of door-to-door evangelism, I began
to dread it. It’s hot and sticky outside. It takes twice as long to
share the gospel when you’re speaking through a translator. Most of
the people we talk to answer their cell phones in the middle of our
conversation. We’ve been turned away by people who are too “busy”
(aka sitting on a bench in the shade) to listen. We’ve been told
again and again by the local Muslim community that Jesus is not God,
but rather, a “good man and prophet”. I began to doubt the
effectiveness and purpose of our ministry.

To
put it simply, my attitude toward door-to-door evangelism was sinful.
My biggest frustration (other than the sun & heat) was people
talking on their phones while I tried to talk to them about Jesus. I
took it personally. Answering your phone while Leslie is talking to
you=Leslie (and her message) is boring. Or so I thought.

Last
night, after we finished eating dinner, our team hooked up an ipod
to one of the speakers in the church and we praised God for a couple
of hours. God told me to bow down on the floor without saying
anything. He wanted me to listen. So I did. In that short time, God
revealed something huge to me: It’s not those I’m witnessing to that
think the gospel is boring…it’s me.

Recently,
I’ve allowed God’s demanding love to wear me out. What God meant for
restoration and worship, I used for demolition and complaint. The
“wonderful cross” became a monotonous song that I sang on
repeat when commanded to. How could I expect others to be excited and
refreshed by the gospel when I, myself, was not?

I
blamed the heat. I blamed the audience. I blamed the language
barrier. And now that I’ve run out of excuses…i’m finally ready to
blame my sinful self. But praise God for His continued work in me!
Last night as I bowed down before Him, He had me preach the gospel to
myself. I wish I could tell you a story of how all of the excitement
came rushing back, of how I started to dance and sing and jump up and
down at the thought of door-to-door evangelism the next morning…but
that’s not what happened. God did, however, restore my strength in
Him. And with that strength, I handed over my personal comfort, and
my need to impress and entertain people with the gospel. The gospel
does not need a strobe light. It needs a softened heart, an obedient
tongue, and an open ear.

Thanks
to Jesus, and His forgiveness of my sins by the cross, the gospel now
has those things from me once more. I praise you, Lord.

Romans
15.20 And
thus I make it my
ambition to
preach the gospel,
not where Christ has already been named, lest I build on someone
else’s foundation.