This Tuesday we were able to visit a tribe in the Rift Valley called the Turkana. I’d like to briefly share one of my experiences from our house visits.
The second house we came to was surrounded by cattle. Two men were standing on the roof working and no one was inside the house. Our translator, Pastor James, approached the house and the men came down the wooden ladder and introduced themselves. We shook theire hands and I immediately knew this was going to be a challenge. One of the men, named John, spoke English well and was intelligent. He wasn’t defensive or rude to us, but it was different not needing a translator and being able to speak directly to this man. When we started telling him why we were there, he asked us a question. It almost felt like the was challenging us with it, but I could tell that the issue was something he was genuinly curious about. I wish I could remember his exact wording, but he asked something like, “is it necessary to go to church to be saved?” I looked around at Pastor James and realized that this conversation had likely happened before. I stumbled into my answer that missing a Sunday of church does not mean that you are not saved, but it is important to be surround by other believers to be strengthened and encouraged. Then I remembered reading this morning in Hebrews 10 about spurring one another on. I flipped through my Bible to find it again but I was not able to read it because our conversation was moving too fast.
John continued to look at me and Lyndsey with sincere curiosity for what we had to say. When we asked him why he had not been saved, he said something about the devil and his traps and how he was not able to change. After talking to him some more, we finally realized: This man is confused about what true Salvation is.
“But apart from the law the righteousness of God has been made know, to which the Law and the Prophets testify. This righteousness is given through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference between Jew and Gentile, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. God presented Christ as a sacrifice of atonement, throught the shedding of his blood-to be received by faith.”
“Where, then, is boasting? It is excluded. Because of what law? The law that requires works? No, because of the “law” that requires faith.”
Romans 3:21-25, 27
I truly believe that Lyndsey and I said nothing else the rest of the time. God’s Spirit spoke through us instead. I told John my story of being saved when I was young, and that to be a Christian is not something you lead up to through becoming more knowledgable of the Bible and through repenting of all your sins, rather it is the beginning. The beginning of “growing in the grace and knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ”. Your relationship with the Lord grows deeper and deeper from the day you become a Christian until the day you die. You do not have to have it all figured out before you “confess with your mouth and believe in your heart…”
Before we left, we were able to pray over John as he made his decision. He told us he wanted to think about it, and did not want to make the decision right now , but that talking to us had softened his heart. Please continue to pray for him, and also for Lyndsey and I, who hope to find him on our visit next week.
