By Brenda Groves
The Post Newspaper Contributing Writer
Several years ago I read a book about a missionary from America who has spent her whole life spreading the good news of Jesus Christ.
She and her husband have started numerous churches and orphanages, as a result their ministry has reached millions of people and saved countless lives- physically and spiritually. As I read one of her stories again it made me smile and I wanted to share with you again as well.
The book recalled how a Pastor and his father had traveled from New York City for a visit. They had heard about the impact her ministry is having on so many people and wanted to learn more about it.
One day the missionary invited them to take a boat ride with her. The goal was to find a remote Christian village that she wanted to revisit after a long absence. Some of the children that lived with her also came along for the ride.
They had traveled quite a way down the winding river and eventually pulled up close to a muddy bank which she thought might be near the location of this particular village.
The Pastor looked around at the deserted unmarked landscape and asked, “But how will we know when we find the Christians?”
She smiled. “I think we’re near. Don’t worry, we’ll know.”
Gingerly she and the children jumped into the water and began to make their way closer to shore. She glanced back to see the men just staring at her, not quite sure what to do.
Remembering her manners she returned to the larger boat and retrieved a small dingy, and along with her guest they approached the shoreline.
The thick mud along the bank was wide, and deep, and hot from the African sun. As she and the children plodded along for a good distance she glanced back again, and saw the men struggling behind. She waited for them to catch up and a little exasperated, the Pastor repeated himself, “But HOW will we KNOW when we’ve found the Christians?”
Again, she smiled and reassured him. “It’s okay. We’ll know.”
They walked some more in the thick mud when suddenly a woman approached them from a distance. She was small and carried a huge pot on her shoulder.
The missionary called out a greeting to the women who in return replied, “Helloooo, can I wash your feet?”
With a wide grin on her face the missionary turned back to the Pastor and his father and announced triumphantly, “Ahh! We have FOUND the Christians!!”
LOL!! I love this testimony!
You know, when I started really seeking intimacy with the Lord one of the first things He instructed me to do was to quit trying to “fix” myself. Through doctrines in the churches I grew up in, I was trained to look for sin in my life and try to stop it. But the Lord led me to the book of Ephesians where I ended up spending about a year studying and meditating on those six chapters.
Something remarkable happened from the inside out. “My faith became effective by the acknowledgment of every good thing in me.”
This is where I began to see Christ in me. From there I started absorbing my new born identity in Jesus throughout the New Testament. “Faith works by love.” Gal. 5:6
I had never heard anything like this growing up. But yet, here it was, right in these pages and I knew it was true because the Holy Spirit within me was bearing witness the whole time.
One morning while on my way to work I was thinking about this amazing revelation that God lived on the inside of me in my new born again spirit. Wow! My body is carrying the Spirit of God inside!
And suddenly I began to have some fear creep in.
As the magnitude of this truth was overwhelming. How did and do Christians handle this revelation? The God who created the world I live in, is now living in me. Again, because of religious instruction I had received it seemed almost blasphemous to even consider that Almighty God would want to live on the inside of me. That He would even go as far as to give born again believers His authority to cast out demons, heal the sick, raise the dead. (Matt. 10:8) But there it was, written down in red letters- the Word of God!
So I made a decision to believe what God says, and make every man a liar in comparison. (Rom. 3:4)
Yet, at the same time I was also afraid that this kind of knowledge would tempt me to become vain in some way. So as I approached a familiar grove of trees I remember asking the Lord Jesus out loud, “But HOW did you do it? How did you act among people? How did you keep yourself from becoming puffed up or prideful?”
“Because Jesus was tempted in all points just like we are, yet without sin.” Heb. 4:15-16
Then Jesus showed me a vision of Himself, the King of kings, the Lord of lords, the Son of God, God in the flesh, bending down and …. washing the disciples feet.
I cried. Then I laughed. Then I cried some more.
Of course, it’s so simple! It’s not about us, but ourselves. It’s all about Him, and what He has done for us. He is manifested through us who have been re-born out of a pure unselfish Love! It is an attitude of gratitude (not servitude) that compels us.
When we begin reading the Bible and experiencing Jesus’s love for us we can’t help but get excited about this great love. It floods our hearts to overflowing!
When we serve someone a cup of coffee. Or wash their dishes. Or give them a ride to the store. Or put up their grocery cart. Or pay for their meal. Or mow their lawn. Or lay a piece of fruit on their desk. Or choose to forgive.
Or love them unconditionally because of Jesus flowing through us.
We (you) are washing their feet.
“Ah, we have found the Christians!”
“A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.” John 13:34-35
P.S. I have not printed the missionaries name in my column, but if you would like to hear more of her testimonies for yourself. Please email me and I will be glad to share her information with you.
Contact Brenda Groves at: bkgrove1996@yahoo.com
