Sometimes I see people and I look right past them. I am in a hurry to get where I am going, I don't want to make awkward eye contact with someone, and if it's a beggar, looking at them is an invitation for them to bombard you. But sometimes, I look intently at the men, women and children here. When I do that, I see that there is a story behind them. Choices and circumstances have shaped their life to where they are now, and most of the time, doing this deeply saddens me. It saddens me because I know that 98 percent of the population in Bangladesh is living without the hope of Christ in their life. They go home to families that do not know the love of Jesus. They practice rituals and traditions to the point that they grow numb to it. It becomes something they have to do in order to earn the favor of their god. They wake up every morning not knowing if their eternity is solidified.
The other day I was on the train coming back from a short trip to the capitol. There was a man working on the train that sold chips. He was most likely very poor. As I looked at him I started to think to myself, did he dream of having this job when he was 5? Did he want to become a doctor or a teacher? Was he happy to have this job because it meant he actually had a small income? As I was questioning this, I started to cry. He looked hopeless, as if there was no purpose to his existence. He was just a poor chip seller on a train. What would his life look like if he knew Jesus… who was going to tell this man about Jesus? About this time the TV on the train changed to a picture of muslims in Saudi Arabia. Millions of them in this picture were all bowing in adoration to allah. The large caption on the picture read "ALLAH THE GREATEST!"As the call to prayer started to sound men and women got up to pray. They sat on their knees with no shoes, bodies facing Mecca, the holy city for Islam and began to recite their prayers. Many men and women started to bow down- praying to a god who is not God.
By this time I had to put my hands to my face to cover the tears that started to flow. I had never felt so overwhelmed before in my life. It wasn't a feeling from the enemy, but it was from the Lord. I thought of all the people in Bangladesh alone who would not spend eternity with Jesus Christ if they were to die today. MILLIONS. Let that word sink in for a minute. Millions of people just in Bangladesh will spend their eternity in hell if they die today. Then I started to think of people all over the globe. Muslims, Hindus, Bhuddists, Atheists… the list goes on and on.
I had to ask myself this question… What are we doing with our lives?? When did the church become so content with living in our Christian bubble. God says "Go" and we send money. We are so concerned with material items and our "status quo" that we are completely forgetting about the millions of people that are dying in their sin daily. Why are people not leaving by the masses to go and live in the hardest of places to reach the most difficult people.
God really convicted me of this. Lately I have been excited to go home and to have all the things that I don't have here. A dryer, dishwasher, central A.C. and much more. But God spoke to me in this moment on the train. "Why do you care about this useless stuff, knowing that these people are lost and in need of a savior. Do you not know that your time here on earth is limited. Go and proclaim my name to the people of Bangladesh." I realized that everything back home is nothing compared to the joy that I see when even 1 person comes to know Christ.
This world is not our home. Lets quit getting comfortable, because we're not here to be settled. We're here to be sent.
I am ready for Christ's return. Though we do not know when this will be, we know from Matthew 24:14 that the end will come once the Gospel of the Kingdom is preached to the whole world. Let that motivate us to be a people that go and sacrifice everything so that the whole world will know that He is God!
The other day I was on the train coming back from a short trip to the capitol. There was a man working on the train that sold chips. He was most likely very poor. As I looked at him I started to think to myself, did he dream of having this job when he was 5? Did he want to become a doctor or a teacher? Was he happy to have this job because it meant he actually had a small income? As I was questioning this, I started to cry. He looked hopeless, as if there was no purpose to his existence. He was just a poor chip seller on a train. What would his life look like if he knew Jesus… who was going to tell this man about Jesus? About this time the TV on the train changed to a picture of muslims in Saudi Arabia. Millions of them in this picture were all bowing in adoration to allah. The large caption on the picture read "ALLAH THE GREATEST!"As the call to prayer started to sound men and women got up to pray. They sat on their knees with no shoes, bodies facing Mecca, the holy city for Islam and began to recite their prayers. Many men and women started to bow down- praying to a god who is not God.
By this time I had to put my hands to my face to cover the tears that started to flow. I had never felt so overwhelmed before in my life. It wasn't a feeling from the enemy, but it was from the Lord. I thought of all the people in Bangladesh alone who would not spend eternity with Jesus Christ if they were to die today. MILLIONS. Let that word sink in for a minute. Millions of people just in Bangladesh will spend their eternity in hell if they die today. Then I started to think of people all over the globe. Muslims, Hindus, Bhuddists, Atheists… the list goes on and on.
I had to ask myself this question… What are we doing with our lives?? When did the church become so content with living in our Christian bubble. God says "Go" and we send money. We are so concerned with material items and our "status quo" that we are completely forgetting about the millions of people that are dying in their sin daily. Why are people not leaving by the masses to go and live in the hardest of places to reach the most difficult people.
God really convicted me of this. Lately I have been excited to go home and to have all the things that I don't have here. A dryer, dishwasher, central A.C. and much more. But God spoke to me in this moment on the train. "Why do you care about this useless stuff, knowing that these people are lost and in need of a savior. Do you not know that your time here on earth is limited. Go and proclaim my name to the people of Bangladesh." I realized that everything back home is nothing compared to the joy that I see when even 1 person comes to know Christ.
This world is not our home. Lets quit getting comfortable, because we're not here to be settled. We're here to be sent.
I am ready for Christ's return. Though we do not know when this will be, we know from Matthew 24:14 that the end will come once the Gospel of the Kingdom is preached to the whole world. Let that motivate us to be a people that go and sacrifice everything so that the whole world will know that He is God!
No comments:
Post a Comment