One thing that amazes me about the area in which we are staying is the diversity. Tonight we went out and were at Dillards. In one department I started talking to an employee who was obviously African. When I say obviously African, I don't just mean because he was so black he was blue, African. I mean obviously African just because of how he walked and sounded and (this will sound really strange) something about how his shirt fit him just told me he wasn't born in Virginia.
So I start a conversation about where he is from because he strikes me as a Kenyan. No, he tells me he is from Sudan. He is a Dinka (http://www.sudan101.com/dinka.htm). A Dinka. So that raises my total number of Dinka that I have ever met to one, as far as I know. And this one an interesting one: a refugee from Sudan to Kenya, he has visited Ethiopia and now is going to school in the US and working at Dillards.
It makes me think about the Psalm I was reading today, Psalm 67, where the psalmist says, May God be gracious and bless and shine on us...that your way may be known on earth...among all the nations...let the peoples praise you, O God; let all the peoples praise you. Let the nations be glad...judge the peoples with equity...guide the nations...let the peoples praise you...let all the peoples praise you...let all the ends of the earth fear him!" You should read it, I am just highlighting "all the peoples".
God loves peoples and wants them to know Him. He wants to break out all over the earth. But I don't expect it to happen as long as most people think a Dinka is a soft drink or a computer game.
We've been assigned to read the biography of James O. Fraser Mountain Rain and in the beginning the story is recounted of his struggling about giving his life to tell people about Jesus. What pushed him over the edge was a little booklet. In it he was faced with the question, "If our Master returned today to find millions of people (Dinka, maybe) unevangelized, and looked, as of course He would look, to us for an explanation, what explanation could we give for spending our lives the way we have?"
What explanation can you or I give to God then? What explanation would you like to give?
7 comments:
How do you just talk to somebody in Dillard's, and find out all that in a short time? You are still challenging us! Makes those food comments quite inane, doesn't it?
People love to talk about their homes and their cultures. Its mostly Americans who think it rude to ask someone about their ethnicity. If someone has a fairly-well defined accent, they already know it and won't be surprised that I picked up on it. As a matter of fact I have one, too, and sometimes people point it out to me!
You still never cease to amaze me at the insight the Lord has given you. The Lord sure has picked and molded a special family. You are right, What could we say!! Love ya grandma pam
I read it this morning. The last verse says "He blesses us so that all the peoples will fear Him." And we act like He blesses us because we deserve it! We need to remember why He does what He does, and why we should do anything we do. That sense of entitlement really hinders us.
Amen!!
I miss those mini sermons from you on Sunday...thank you for your observations that are truly God given. Continue to sharpen us. Re
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