I’m trying to figure out what it means to follow Jesus.
The reality of this crazy challenging journey is that I'm continually learning how to follow Jesus.
I don’t have it all together. It's taken traveling for seven months to seven countries for me to realize this.
I don't know what it means to be a Christian. I’m selfish. I want what is best for me above all others far too often. As the four-year-old Cambodian slum girl clings tighter to me than to her own mother, I realize…
I fall short.
I’m not Jesus.
See, this sweet slum girl, with her rotting teeth, has hair infested with lice. I found myself more concerned that she would contaminate my hair with lice than I was concerned with loving her as Jesus would love her.
My humanity.My sinful nature.
My care for myself above this little girl
brings me to my knees in brokenness.
Jesus pursued the “least of these” with fervor and grace.
He touched those who were never touched – the diseased, the destitute, the dirty.
Abandoned by her alcoholic parents, this little girl worries about caring for her siblings.
She fights to have enough food and water to get them through the day.
And I'm worried about lice???
Fast forward to the Kampong Cham prison that holds over one thousand inmates. Over 40 inmates came to hear from us and learn from us yesterday afternoon. As one of my teammates told them the story of Jesus, I purposefully glanced into each of their eyes.
Each set of eyes told me a story. There were stories of nightmares and incredible pain. When we think of serving others in the name of Jesus – we mostly think of the orphan, the widow, the homeless.
But what about the murderer? The thief? The rapist? The sex-trafficker? Whew.
A man in his blue jump suit raised his hand to answer the question. He said, “I am very sorry but I am thankful because now I hear about Jesus.”
Jesus loves the murderers. He loves the thieves. And He loves the lice infested children in the slums. Do I love the people Jesus loves?
As I glanced into the eyes of the inmates, I felt compassion. And as they sang “Lord I lift Your Name on High” to us, I realized that this is the Kingdom of God. The Kingdom of God is full of murderers and thieves praising a God who forgives.
This is what it means when Jesus prays, “Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done, on earth as it is in Heaven.” Jesus’ ways surprise me. His ways challenge me. And, as I continually fall short – He’s teaching me.
He’s making me more like Himself as He continually asks me to step out of my comfort zone. Ken Wytsma said, “We don’t really need faith and can’t understand it until we literally have no idea what’s supposed to happen next."
I don’t necessarily know how to love the prisoner. Or the lice infested child. But, I know that Jesus loves them. And if Jesus loves them, He is going to give me the strength to love them too.
It takes faith, which doesn’t always come naturally. We claim to be followers of Jesus, let’s live as that is our reality.
Let’s love because He first loved us. Let’s get dirty with the dirty because that’s what Jesus did for you and me. He didn’t have to leave heaven to come to this broken earth. But he did, and he loved all of us.
He teaches us how to love. All we have to do is say yes to his calling, and GO.
