Where we view things from makes a huge difference in what we see. For instance, the view from the North Rim of the Grand Canyon is much different than the view from the South Rim. This holds true for all of life.
This last week there was a large conference in a village near here. Thousands showed up .. many for the food or for what they thought they might recieve from the foreigners there. (which is understandable when you only eat every other day and barely have rags to cover yourself)
To hear the conference reported by westerners there were miracles, signs, wonders and gifts of the Holy Spirit. Food was multiplied, people were healed miraculously and people committed their lives to Jesus.
Which is all wonderful.
But I heard a Mozambican Pastor share what impressed him about the conference. He said that what impressed him first was that “You did not do anything bad to us.”
That may sound trivial to westerners, but if you understand the colonial history of this nation and how it has been treated by westerners, that is a HUGE statement of praise. (If you are unaware of the history or think that what your nation does is always right, then that statement won’t mean anything to you)
The second thing that impressed him was that ‘..there were no fights over food.” There were many many people and that is an impressive statement. Again, for those in the west that may not mean much, but in a land where many people only eat one meal every other day, that is a powerful testimony.
Unless you change the way you think you cannot enter the Kingdom Jesus said. Changing the way you think includes changing your world view. I would ask you to consider getting outside your cultural box and sit with those who are not as fortunate as you. Learn from them. Try to see as they see. You might find the keys to the Kingdom!
