Today, my team and I were on our way to a school to share our testimonies and sing some songs. On the way, I saw a girl riding on the back of a trike (the mode of transportation here in the Philippines), and I started wondering what she was like. What was her name? Where was she going? What is she suffering with? What are the desires of her heart? Okay, I know a little deep for a girl I will never meet, but it led me to think about people and how we are all beautifully broken souls desiring more on this earth.
Think about all of the people on this earth… billions of people.
Now think about the way these billions of people interact with one another. The decisions people make directly affect other people living on this earth. As I have been traveling around the world, I have been heartbroken by the way my friends I have met on this journey have been affected by poor decisions made by other people in their lives.
In Swaziland, the decision Wendy and Peter Pan’s stepmother made to beat them and stepbrother made to rape her led them to living in El Shaddai orphanage, feeling unloved and insecure.
Because Tesfaye’s father was difficult to live with, Tesfaye found refuge in the streets of Addis Ababa as a shoeshine boy. One night he went to sleep in an abandoned building that was actually a storage house for electricity and got electrocuted.
In my life, I felt abandoned and unworthy when my father chose to leave my family.
Broken people hurt broken people.
The billions of people on this earth are all broken because of sin. Grandparents and parents and children are all damaged because of sin. But, through all of this brokenness, we are redeemed! How beautiful is that? God sent His one and only son, Jesus, to come live on this earth and die a brutally painful death on the cross. FOR US! Because God loves us so much, he wanted to reconcile our relationships with Him. And because of this, we now have the power of Jesus living inside of us (when we accept him into our hearts of course). As I have been traveling around the world, I have been learning how much an overflowing love that comes from God alone can change somebody’s world. Because of destructive decisions by mankind, Jesus has come and redeemed each of our negative situations.
Jesus is teaching Wendy and Peter Pan how to be loved by others and how to trust people in their lives. They are two of the most caring, loving children I have ever met.
Jesus brought a woman into Tesfaye’s life while he was recovering in the hospital, who brought him to Win Souls for God Ministry. Jesus has instilled a relentless passion in his soul to help other boys living on the street.
Jesus gave me a sense of worth that no human will ever be able to. Because of Jesus I am loved unceasingly and perfectly.
Jesus redeems and changes lives. And because Jesus is living inside of His children, we have the power to change lives for Jesus. Pretty cool if you ask me. Jesus is inviting both you and I, wherever we are in the world, to bring hope and restoration to others. We can be the people who change worlds. We can be the people who love relentlessly. We can be the people who are overflowing with Jesus everyday.
I want to be a person who changes lives because of love.
We are all broken people, who are both being affected and affecting other broken people. But we can make the choice whether we impact the people we interact with negatively or positively. Today, what choice will you make?
Megan 🙂
