Pastor C, in South Asia where I just returned from, came home recently to find two oil cans in front of his house. This was a clear and brazen message being sent to him. The message was this: “We could have just as easily burned down your house; and we could still do so at any time.” Since there have been recent church bombings in this area, this was no idle threat and C knew it.
But the comment he made to me was this: “I have to keep asking myself this question: am I willing to pay the price to follow Jesus?” His point was clear. He would follow wherever Jesus leads him regardless of the cost.
I wrote of this incident in our travel blog because it has caused me to consider this question personally. I have reflected on just how singular my focus really is on following Jesus alone.
I asked myself if I have become accustomed to playing it safe and therefore subtly unwilling to really ask God to lead me regardless of where his assignments might take me? Do I trust him enough to believe that whatever cost he asks of me, in the process of following him, is worth it because of the overwhelming reward that comes from fully following him?
In any case, these South Asian leaders were an inspiration and a joy to teach as they have set their hearts to reach nations with the Gospel. In addition to reaching out to local people (largely Muslim), they have the opportunity to reach students from several closed countries who come there for college studies.
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