Readings for the day: Matthew 20, Mark 10:32-52, Luke 18:31-43, 19:1-27
“The Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many." (Matthew 20:28)
“For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost." (Luke 19:10)
I often wonder how different the world would look if followers of Jesus would take just these two verses literally. Can you imagine the impact we would make if we had the courage to serve as the Son of Man served and seek as the Son of Man sought? Perhaps that’s why I love coming to Ethiopia so much. Here I get the opportunity to see this kind of faithfulness in action.
I think of Lydia. A 22 year old woman with two babies who ministers in a Muslim village outside of Dire Dawa. Everyday she travels the streets of her town on foot preaching the gospel in the open air. She suffers verbal and sometimes physical abuse. She has put her life and the lives of her family at risk. But she considers it a privilege to serve the least and seek the lost like Jesus. God has honored her faithfulness! Street women are coming to faith and leaving behind their former lives of prostitution. Her description of their desperation and the hope they find in Jesus is powerful.
I think of Gedesa. A young man of 25 who is single and serving in among the Muslim and Orthodox in a village 300 kilometers away near Harar. He longs to get married and have a family but has delayed those dreams so he can serve the least and seek the lost like Jesus. He gets attacked. Both Muslims and Orthodox are aggressive in their abuse. They disrupt his preaching. They pay his converts to recant. But still he persists. It is inspiring.
I think of Yitsgelu. A Somali man who converted to Christ out of Islam. His family publicly shamed him and drove him from their village. He came to Dire Dawa to serve the least and seek the lost like Jesus. His denomination sent him to a suburb of the city where he ministers among the Muslims, bringing many to Christ. It is not easy work as they suffer just like he suffered. Their families disown them. Their community abandons them. They often lose their jobs. But God is using Yitsgelu’s own story to bring redemption in the name of Jesus.
These are just a few of the stories I’ve heard this week and there are so many more to share. God is moving in this part of the country. Over the last two years, over 360 churches have been planted and over 219 thousand people have heard the gospel for the first time! As a result, over 14 thousand have given their lives to Christ in an area that is 98% Muslim. All because a few hundred church planters decided to take Jesus seriously. Like the Son of Man, they’ve come to serve the least and seek the lost.