“Today if you hear His voice, do not harden your hearts…”– Psalm 95: 7-8
i am glad that the onus is not on my shoulders to bring about spiritual awakening to the reality of Christ in any individual. if it was, i would have given up by now. the previous 3 months before we landed in London were spent working in asian buddhist countries where most people assented to a religious ideal without questioning why. in most cases, this simply led to a real lack of application or conviction concerning one’s stated religion. it seemed to me that most buddhists inherited their religion from their parents who inherited it from their parents and so forth and so on. it was the status quo of their culture and in their minds, there was no good reason to go against the grain, or no knowledge that they needed to do so. the fact that the buddhists i worked with just accepted religion and did not really embrace it indicated that they were open to the message of Christ. they would listen attentively and objectively. though they seemed far from Christ, i saw hope for those countries. there was a real sensitivity to things that are not of this world. flash forward to london. the thought here is probably the same as it is in the rest of europe:. i dont care about God, i dont care about His Son so dont bother me about it. Faith of many generations ago has been replaced by the faith of logic and reason. in their minds, if they want to see God all they have to do is look in the mirror. given the nature of our ministry here (passing out tracks and general street evangelism) i have had plenty of contact with several Englishmen as well as countless others from many parts of the globe who have migrated here and now call London home. i have come to the conclusion that the condition of the heart in most Londoners is like the winter here: cold and bitter. but where our feet step, we bring hope. We bring the truth and we bring the message that can make the deadest heart come to life. however, i have a feeling that when i leave london, i am not going to feel like i have in other countries where the message of Christ is not deeply rooted. i am going to feel like little changed here. i have no doubt that God brought us here for a reason but at this moment i have little clue as to why. all that being said, my mission is to be obedient to Him who sent me here regardless of whether i know fully what God is doing or have vague notions.
i can say that many here were exposed again to the message of Christ during the time we have been here. but the question goes back to the verse at the top of the page; did they HEAR the voice of God? did they hear God and continue to remain hard hearted as the Jews did following Egyptian oppression? God knows the answer and i trust that He is on the move here but i do find it somewhat ironic that i felt more hope in buddhist countries than a modern western city. please pray for this city!
