The Heart of God

My apologies for taking such a long time to update! I have been attempting to write this blog post for days now. God has been teaching me an immense amount and it has been difficult to find the right words to tie everything together. I pray that all reading will be able to follow what may seem like a bit of rambling on my part. 

I am currently reading a book called “Faces of God” by Gordon and Gladis Depree. I found it in the english clearance bin at a five-story book store down the street from my apartment. Interestingly enough, among the random 80s workout books and cheesy romance novels, there was a selection of Christian materials (most likely disposed of or donated by local believers). The book proposes the concept that every person on this earth is in fact a face of our God. This means there is no person or place void of God. There is not one person that we will fail to learn a characteristic of God from. This way of viewing people should radically change how we think about and treat others. A passage from the book says: 

“When I look around, how can I possibly accept everybody, just everybody as a face of God? This one lies and that one cheats. That fellow was involved in a scandal. This one screams at his wife. This boy is on drugs and that girl is promiscuous. That woman manipulates her family and the whole neighborhood. Is it not an insult to God to call these his faces? My face can become distorted, pushed into or out of shape by what is done, by the lack of the awareness of who I am… But is a dirty face any less of a face?” 

Throughout this internship, and throughout life really, I have come in contact with people society would deem as having dirty faces. These are people who struggle with bondage of addictions, hate, violence, sickness, extreme poverty, and abuse. Their lives are broken and messy. If I am being honest, it isn’t always comfortable to be in the midst of these broken lives. I have to continually check myself not to judge people for what I perceive their circumstances to be, but rather to look at them with a love understanding that they are in fact a beautiful face of God. I pray that they will have the grace to look upon me in the same way in my personal brokenness. 

When meditating on this, God revealed several scriptures that really speak about His heart for the broken, chained, oppressed, abandoned, and poor people of this earth. James 1:27 writes:

“Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted from the world.” 

When it comes down to it, we can say the right words, attempt to live honest lives, and even give of our possessions to the Lord, but what really honors God is the way that we love and take care his people. He makes it very clear that his presence is especially with the poor and that it is our job as his followers to have a similar presence. 

In Isaiah 58 this calling is explained further when God says:

“Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen: to loose the chains of injustice and untie the cords of the yoke, to set the oppressed free and break every yoke? Is it not to share your food with the hungry and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter- when you see the naked, to clothe him, and not turn away from your own flesh and blood?” 

For those who take these commands seriously, God promises:

“Then your light will break forth like the dawn, and your healing will quickly appear. Then your righteousness will go before you and the glory of the Lord will be your rear guard. Then you will call, and the Lord will answer. You will cry for help, and he will say: Here am I.” 

God so blesses those who are willing to place themselves in the lives of the messy and broken. Because that is his heart, he does amazing work through people who are willing to answer that call. 

When talking about helping the poor, many get defensive. They believe the person calling others to this kind of service is self-righteous or prideful. The problem with this reaction is that it isn’t the person calling others to action; it is God who is calling. It isn’t a choice of whether you feel like participating in this work or not. God demands that his followers must do this. Granted, it is much easier to live comfortable lives away from the messiness, but God never intended for our lives to be comfortable. 

The most beautiful part is that whether we respond or not, faithfully God still is with the broken. He continues to bring healing and restoration. Isaiah 57 assures us of this by proclaiming:

 “I live in a high and holy place, but also with him who is contrite and lowly in spirit, to revive the spirit of the lowly and to revive the heart of the contrite.” 

Even earlier in Isaiah 11, a prophecy of the coming of Jesus is made where it exclaims:

“He will not judge by what he sees with his eyes, or decide by what he hears with his ears, but with righteousness he will judge the needy, with justice he will give decisions for the poor of the earth.”

God’s passion and promise is for the poor. 

To really get to know God means going to the places he is. I have a feeling God isn’t particularly choosing to dwell on an oversized couch watching yet another re-run of Seinfeld. (Not saying his presence is void there or that he wouldn’t get a chuckle from Kramer’s rambunctious hair.) What I do know for certain is that God is with the child who grew up without a father. He is with the elderly women who just lost her husband of forty years to cancer. He is with the man hopelessly addicted to alcohol. He is with the woman who chooses to fill her emptiness with the company of men. He is with the man begging for change on the streets. He is with the child infected by HIV who has no access to medicine or even clean drinking water. He is with the girl who was taken away from her home and sold into sexual slavery. If we are to truly understand the very essence of God’s character, if we are to truly follow as his disciples, we need to dwell with these people too. 

The humbling part of this is that we all have some place in our lives that is messy and broken. That hurt we try to hide from the view of the public. That struggle we barely can admit to ourselves we have. We all in some way are the poor. Because of God’s all-encompassing love, he dwells with us and won’t give up until we all reach healing and restoration in him. We are his faces: young, old, rich, poor, healthy, sick, admittedly broken, or attempting to appear to have everything together. We need to start viewing each other like this. We need to start viewing ourselves as this. We need to enter into the depths of each other’s lives and be a part of shining the light of Christ in the darkest places of us all. Then and only then can we reach a deeper understanding, appreciation, and love for the God who sacrificed it all to dwell with the poor like us.

 So there are the truths that God has been challenging me with and they never fail to play into my everyday work here. 

Time for some life updates! Last week we had a birthday celebration for the woman I am living with. We got a large group together and went to an island which was about an hour away by ferry boat. The ferry boat was so densely packed that you could not move anywhere because there were so many people sitting in the aisles and on the stairs. To make things even more crowded, we brought the family’s miniature doxen named Snuggles. Snuggles is so adorable that she caused what seemed like every child on board to come over and shyly giggle as they reached out to pet her. 

Stepping out the boat, I immediately knew I would love our visit here. It had the flavor of a Greek Island complete with white stone buildings, antique metal gateways, and an abundance of greenery which I had been desperately missing in the cold concrete of the city. We enjoyed the day there by picnicking under a gorgeous tree which protected us from being scorched by sun. We got to go exploring to see the unique houses and shops which were speckled all over the Island. At the end of our time there we even got to wade into the sea. Every time I ride the ferry or go running by the sea I have this desire to just submerge myself in the water. I realize this impulse would be a very foolish one due to the depth of the sea and the massive amounts of jellyfish which plague the waters, yet for some reason I can’t help but equate truly feeling alive with the sea. Though I couldn’t fully submerge myself that day, I got a taste for it. 

Ever since my first day in this country, I have completely fallen in love with the sea.  I love how the expanse of blue looks in comparison to the skyline of the city. I love the sweet but salty smell of the air and the refreshing coolness on your face as the wind blows over the waters. I love to see the small fishing boats being gently tossed by the waves as the fishermen go about their daily business. I especially love to watch the sun set over the sea. Such an array of colors and never is one sunset the same. The sea has never failed to put me in a place of awe of God’s beauty, creativity, and genius. Due to this love affair with the sea, I have decided that wherever I live someday must have access to the sea. I have no clue how I have gone so long without it!

We have been continuing to work on the building. We are aiming to have a 24-hour prayer time on the 16^th of July! Hopefully we can get the rooms plastered and painted and the bathrooms up and running at that point.

Final things I would like to say:
My close friend and her husband are having a baby! Congratulations! I cannot wait to celebrate with you both! 

 

Love and Miss You All!