"Truly, truly I say to you, whoever believes in me will also do the works that I do; and greater works than these will he do, because I am going to the Father." John 14:12
I was told in an email to memorize the verse above. It is not a lengthy passage or one that I am unfamiliar with. It does, however, ring differently as I strike it today.
I know nothing of the country I venture to. It is a place rich with tradition and history. It lies in the belly of the most ancient part of the world and is comprised of men and women with different skin color and world views than myself. I have left the United States before and journeyed to Africa, South America and various European countries. Sometimes I went for missions other times for vacation but I have been exposed many different kinds of people and beliefs in my life. This particular region of the world is one that I have not avoided intentionally, but never had the motivation or the means visit. I had never been burdened for Asia or its people until this fall when I prayed for my partner that I am traveling with. The burden fell in an unexpected way and in an inconvenient time.
India has been around for a while. People have inhabited this region for thousands of years and the ground I will walk has been fought over dozens of times. There are 1.2 billion people waiting for us that have a set of ideals and customs that have been instilled and practiced for some time now. They have established and cemented their religious and sociological ways and seem comfortable with them as they are. Two college students from Kentucky plan to turn that on its head.
Here in the United States we fight atheism and "lukewarm Christianity" for the most part. We will not likely encounter many atheists there as it consists of roughly 828 million people who practice Hinduism and 138 people who practice Islam. That's 93.9% of the population. This is not the "Bible Belt". This is nearly 966 million people who do not know the Son of God. Take the population of the United States and multiply it by three and that is how many people don't accept true Christianity. These statistics can cripple hearts and spirits if you let them. I know people tend to grow jaded upon hearing numbers and figures like that but we need to come to a clear understanding of what the situation is over there. Context is everything and we need to know the story of these people.
So we must have some sort of a plan, right? What's the strategy here? I suppose I'll begin to answer that question with what we will not do. We are not missionaries standing atop a moral high ground who dangle truth and salvation over the heads of a people. We are not in any way superior to them and need not act as if we are. We are not salesmen giving a pitch that will trick them into Christ and get them to Heaven by hook or by crook. We don't want their money. We don't want the gratification of being right and having someone else admit that they were wrong. For as we are now children of God, we were once hopeless and blind as well. We were given life and have received grace. Grace is the key, people. As Chad Williams (an apologist) said, "I am just one beggar trying to tell another beggar where to find some food." They are a culture that orients itself on storytelling. You can seize and hold their attention with a good anecdote or tale. Fortunately for me, I know the greatest story of all time. The grand adventure of God and His Son, Jesus. It is a true story that has changed my life. It is the meta-narrative of eternity; the all-encompassing tale of all people for all time. So, we've got that going for us.
Another factor that will play in is the paradigm their culture has concerning the supernatural. Now there is a vast spectrum of belief on this in the United States but over there they have a firm belief in an active spiritual realm. Some Christians grow woozy and cautious when the Spirit and the supernatural are discussed but this is apart of our faith that needs to be embraced. We don't have time to debate what is "possible" right now. I have been informed that signs and wonders strengthen the credibility of what we teach in India. They have adopted an understanding that powers are at work that transcend the natural realm. We have been given the Holy Spirit. We will use the Holy Spirit to show them the power of Jesus Christ. We believe Jesus Christ is the Son of God and that the power that lives in Christ is dwelling within us. We will, in love, allow the Spirit to work through us and do as Christ did. The people of India will know that any power that we have comes solely and completely from Jesus Christ. I could just say read the book of Acts for evidence of this, but I'll provide a few highlight verses for you.
"Truly, truly I say to you, whoever believes in me will also do the works that I do; and greater works than these will he do, because I am going to the Father." John 14:12
"But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you..." Acts 1:8
"And awe came upon every soul, and many signs and wonders were being done through the apostles." Acts 2:43
"And now, Lord, look upon their threats and grant your servants to continue to speak your word with all boldness, while you stretch out your hand to heal, and signs and wonders are performed through the name of your holy servant Jesus." Acts 4:29-30
"Now many signs and wonders were regularly being done among the people by the hands of the apostles." Acts 5:12
"And Stephen, full of grace and power, was doing great wonders and signs among the people." Acts 6:8
"So they remained for a long time, speaking boldly for the Lord, who bore witness to the word of his grace, granting signs and wonders to be done by their hands." Acts 14:3
Those are a few verses lending weight to the belief that we have a powerful God who does great things through His people. There is a lot of darkness in India. We will fight with the light of life.
Blessings,
R*ch
