God is amazing in the way that He pulls together the moments and days of our lives along with the fragments of what we are doing to bring us to a thought or action that He wants us to clearly see. I believe I got that input this week.
Currently, I am reading “Things as They Are” by Amy Carmichael. It is a true account of her time in India as a missionary in the early 1900s.
A reading of this book shows the state of mind of the citizens where she worked, as they considered, and usually opposed, accepting the Christian faith. So very often, as she describes one scene after another in India, the current mentality toward Christianity in the U.S. crosses my mind to merge with facts Ms. Carmichael is relating from over a century ago in a distant land.
It is amazing to me that Christianity seems so foreign to many in the U.S. in 2023. But when we view the figures, or for that matter, just take a good look around our neighborhood, we see that Christianity may have a slightly familiar sound, but not many people other than church attendees can explain why Jesus came to Earth.
I say this to admit that I am stunned that within 100 years, our country has become one which desperately needs missionaries to come and explain the essence of Christianity to us.
My husband, Neil, and I listened to a speaker from Africa who became a Christian through missionaries sent from the U.S. to his hometown in Africa years ago. Now, he visits the states regularly to speak anywhere and everywhere that he can to do the same for this country – which produced those missionaries – as they did for him. He wants to tell others of Jesus’ love for us and His saving grace through His death and resurrection.
What a blessing it is that there are many Christian organizations, churches, and individuals in our country, as well as abroad, who work to see the people of the U.S. come to know Jesus. Knowledge is wisdom. Without knowledge, we cannot make wise decisions.
One of the deterrents Ms. Carmichael came upon when she spoke of Jesus was that people did not always understand or even acknowledge that sin was a problem in their lives. I see that very often in my interactions with others today. What once was considered unspeakable is now spoken of as if it were not a sin.
The Bible is clear that Adam and Eve committed the first sin and from that time forth, we are actually born into sin. We have a choice in our lives to wallow in that sin or to seek the grace and forgiveness from Jesus and to turn our lives toward Him. Only through the precious gift of Jesus’ life can He get us beyond our own sinfulness. But we need to acknowledge our sin first and then put our sin behind us.
If we allow Jesus to free us and to permeate our lives, we can live a life that is so much better. Our very goal is to “be holy, as God is holy.” This can only happen through Jesus’ working in our lives to clean out the closets and toss out the trash. We have to invite Him in to do the job, but what a transformation a clean soul or house can make!
Many of us are in need of this knowledge of Jesus’ helping hand and saving grace. We can see with our own eyes the problems caused by drug, alcohol, and other addictions. We know, or know of, people who cannot hold steady jobs because of their dependency on things that ruin their lives. Those people need to know that Jesus can set them free.
God loves everyone and He wants so much more for us than we pursue. He will open the windows of heaven to us when we seek Him with all our heart and soul and mind. God loves to give His children gifts and it is so very easy to become a child of the Holy Father.
First, we admit we are helpless sinners. Next, we repent of those sins and seek His forgiveness and direction for our lives. If we come to Jesus with our heart and hands open to give Him our lives, He will free us from those horrible sins of dependency on anything other than Him.
As the missionaries in and to the U.S. seek to transition us from the idolatry of our own hearts to the heart of God, let us pray for those we know and love to be a part of that transition.
ED. NOTE: Amy Patsch writes from Ocean City. Email her at writerGoodGod@gmail.com.
