Originally written by Dave Stewart
“…Has not God chosen those who are poor in the eyes of the world to be rich in faith and to inherit the kingdom he promised those who love him?” – James 2:5
Recently I spent time with some of my favorite people in the world.
Not because we connect in conversation; we speak different languages. Not because of life experience either; they’re all much younger than me and we’ve lived very different lives.
No, they’re some of my favorite people because of their decisions to follow the call of God, to proclaim His glory in a not-so-hospitable place in Central Asia. These folks are all young men, mostly between the ages of 19 and 23, the first followers of Christ in their respective families and each passionately committed to learning everything they can about the Word.
Young men like Rashi. Rashi is 21 years old and grew up without his mother or father. He shared with us how he once lived a life of crime and drugs in very dangerous places. He was in a gang with 12 other teens; today, all the rest are dead. Rashi told us how one day he was on a long journey, walking home from several hours away. On the way he saw a small church building and decided to stop in to get out of the sun and rest before continuing on. While inside he heard the Word of God preached and for the first time learned the good news of what Jesus had done for all people on the cross so long ago.
The truth of what Jesus had done for him.
Today Rashi is a student at an indigenous bible academy and told us his desire is to be filled with the Word of God so he can go back and share this news with everyone from his area. All of these young guys are simple men; humble, sincere and committed. Committed to sharing the love of Christ with everyone they can in this spiritually dark region.
Whenever I’ve been there, the highlight of my time with these brothers is always during praise and worship. I have never been around a group which sings with more abandonment, more passion, than these fellows who are about to be sent out into some of the most challenging circumstances imaginable for Christ followers. They have counted the cost of following Jesus and found it to be well worth doing even if the world around them strongly opposes the effort.
They each believe a simple truth – Jesus came to earth to provide life abundant…and what they have found is worth sharing.
So I ask you the question I ask myself when I meet people like Rashi…”what are you doing to take the life-saving, eternity-changing gospel message to the hard places?”
Rashi and the other bible students inspire me to love more, give more, share more. But mostly they inspire me to give every area of my life over to Christ – nothing in reserve, nothing hidden, nothing to regret.
