That all nations might believe and obey...

About 35 years ago I was sitting in the arena at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign surrounded by about 17,000 people who were followers of Jesus. It was the largest gathering of any kind that I had ever attended and was a test of my wits (as I start to get more and more withdrawn as a group exceeds a size of about 8 people).

I wasn't exactly sure why I was at the Urbana 76 missions conference.  But I do know that it drastically altered the course of my life.

The theme of the conference was That All Nations Might Believe and Obey.

It was through this conference that I hooked up with an organization called Emmanuel International though which I went overseas for the first time and though which I met my beautiful wife of now 31+ years.

I can't say I remember much about the speakers either, except for two.

John Stott led us through an expositional study of the first few chapters of Romans talking about the word "justification".  I always remembered the catchy way he defined it: God's righteous way of righteousing the unrighteous.  That middle word confounds the dictionaries a bit, but it is also hard to forget.

The other speaker I remember is Elisabeth Elliot, who passed away yesterday.

Two things particularly stick with me.

First, to illustrate a point she was making, she quoted a poem by a missionary to India named Amy Carmichael.  And she recited the poem in a very beautiful and memorable way.

     From prayer that asks that I may be
     Sheltered from winds that beat on Thee,
     From fearing when I should aspire,
     From faltering when I should climb higher
     From silken self, O Captain, free
     Thy soldier who would follow Thee.

     From subtle love of softening things,
     From easy choices, weakenings,
     (Not thus are spirits fortified,
     Not this way went the Crucified)
     From all that dims Thy Calvary
     O Lamb of God, deliver me.

     Give me the love that leads the way,
     The faith that nothing can dismay
     The hope no disappointments tire,
     The passion that will burn like fire;
     Let me not sink to be a clod;
     Make me Thy fuel, Flame of God.

The second thing that stood out to me was her story.  It wasn't the story of her initial move to Ecuador which resulted in the martyrdom of her husband the the husbands of her teammates.  The lives of these men was a testimony to their profound commitment to Jesus and the exceedingly good news he brought to mankind.

No, to me the truly amazing thing is that she went back.

SHE WENT BACK!

HOW COULD SHE DO THAT?

She went back to those who killed he husband because she knew that they killed him in ignorance.

She went back to those who killed her husband because she knew that as awful a thing it was that they killed her second love, Jim; her first love, Jesus, still loved them.

She went back because Jesus helped her to forgive them.

Her testimony that night 35 years ago had a profound impact on me.  I listened to it over again many times on my cassette player.  I would read and re-read it in the syllabus we received.

My power to forgive has been tested--but never quite that much.

My power to forgive is currently being tested, and sometimes I find it a hard thing to do.

But I remember how much Jesus loved me--enough to forgive me over and over again for the stupid things I do that dishonor His name.

Thank you, Elisabeth Elliot, for sharing your testimony.  For helping me to know about how powerful a thing forgiveness can be.

Elisabeth Elliot 1926-2015
image:www.elisabethelliot.org

Armed and dangerous

Last week my wife brought in a leaf from our rose bush.  It had several very small, yellowish-green insect like creatures crawling over the back of the leaf.

On examination, I wasn't sure if they were some kind of caterpillar (moth or butterfly larvae) or if they were larvae or nymphs of some other insects.

I did notice that they were covered with some furry hairs.

While looking at them, I accidentally touched one of them.

Ouch!

Limacodidae-Spiny slug caterpillar
Yes-that's my thumb for scale

How could such a minute hair on a minute insect inflict such an intense burning pain!

And why is it that the hairs on some creatures are soft and cuddly while others are itchy and painful?  How does one even know except to purposefully or accidentally come in contact with the animal?

Appearances can be deceiving.

I have lived in several countries and I have noticed a commonality among all of them: people like stuff.  People mortgage their homes and their souls in order that they might obtain more and nicer things in order that they might be fulfilled, happy, comfortable, or perhaps perceived as having higher status.

But it fails so often.

Why do people who seem to have it all end up committing suicide?

Why do winners of mega-lotteries often end up worse off than they started?  (And why do governments promote such systems that ultimately fail at what they are hyped to achieve?)

Jesus calls it "the deceitfulness of riches."

That which appears soft and cuddly may in fact be prickly and poisonous.

As for what was sown among thorns, this is the one who hears the word, but the cares of the world and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word, and it proves unfruitful.  (Matthew 13:22)

Not only does that which appears to be good actually fail at being good, it ultimately ends up choking what little good one had to start with.

While I am not a proponent of Buddhism, I have had the opportunity to visit is an interesting temple about 10 miles south of Chiang Rai often referred to as "the white temple".  The artist/creator of the temple makes an interesting contrast.

The temple is divided into two sides.  One side is very ornate with lots of interesting sculptures and such which draw the eye.  It is quite beautiful in many ways.

The other side is quite plain and almost boring.

The two sides are reached by bridges from a central structure.  One starts their journey there and has to decide: "Which side shall I choose.  Should I choose the beautiful and ornate side?  Or should I choose the plain and boring side?"

The catch here is that the "beautiful" side is side of karma-the endless cycle of birth, suffering and death.  The "plain" side is the side of Nirvana.

Many years ago, two men representing two large, extended families stood at a crossroad.  Their combined families were too big to be raising their livestock together and they needed to separate.  The older man said to his nephew, "take your pick, you go one way, I'll go the other."

The nephew looked one way and saw barren, rocky hills.  He looked the other way and saw a lush fertile plain.  He said to his uncle, "I think I'll head down to the valley over there."

The older man took his cattle to the barren hills.  God blessed him and he prospered.  The younger man found himself living among people whose only purpose in life was having a good time.

Eventually the older man had to rescue his nephew from the destruction of the city. The younger man ended up spending the rest of his life in a cave.  The older man prospered and became a great nation. (Genesis 13; 18:22-19:38)

Sometimes, that which appears soft and cuddly is in fact prickly and poisonous.

When you come to the crossroad, which side will you choose?

Wat Rong Khun (วัดร่องขุ่น) - the 'hell" side

Wat Rong Khun (วัดร่องขุ่น) - the "heaven" side

hacer faire ทำ fè

Other than English, I have studied, to one extent or another, four languages in my life.

And in those four languages (French, Spanish, Haitian and Thai) they combine two English words in one.

make, do=hacer faire fè ทำ

Today we were trying to explain the difference between these two words.  Generally it seems fairly simple.  Do is usually used with work or activity.  Make is usually used with things and intangibles, such as "make peace."  But it doesn't always seem so cut and dry.  Even we can mix it up a bit:

   What did you do today?
      I made a list of things to do.
   Did you do anything on the list you made?
      No, but I made an attempt at some of them.
      I even made an appointment to do some of them.

And then there are other subtle nuances.

Making a bed has a much different connotation than making the bed.

(I didn't try to confuse them with that one today.)

Then if you combine the two words, you get something else altogether: I'll make do with what I have.  (The Haitian language has a wonderful word with connotations similar to make do: Dégajè is such a handy word, it was hard to get used to not having it when we left Haiti.)


It was great to have a large group of teenagers in our house today for the class.  Even though there were more people than we expected, we made do and had a good time.  It was even hard to get them to leave when we were done.

All you can eat?

The use of English in Thailand is quite interesting.  Places are sometimes named in English, even though they are marketing to the Thai.  Perhaps this is supposed to be cool or make the place seem more upscale, I don't know.  But sometimes one sees some intriguing signs.

Take the store I saw in Chiang Mai recently:

ladybuffet

The name of the store was only written in English, there was no Thai name nor even a Thai phonetic spelling of the English.

So what kind of place is ladybuffet?

The English suggests one of two things:

A place where women can taste from all kinds of food.
A place where one can taste from all kinds of women.

(Interesting, that in the strange grammar that is English, it could be said of either of these that "they serve ladies", depending on whether "ladies" is the direct object or the indirect object.)

However, I've been in Thailand long enough to figure that this establishment was not either of the scenarios that I listed above.

There is a chain of beauty supply stores in Thailand called "Beauty Buffet".  My guess is that the owner of this place was playing off of that name and called it something similar, not realizing the strange nuances of the English language.

As I read the Thai, my suspicions were confirmed:

จำหน่ายเครื่องสำอาง อาหารเสริม  ปลีก-ส่ง

which translates:

Sell cosmetics, nutritional supplements, retail-delivery

Language is interesting.

It's not just words and meanings of words. It's how we use the words.  We often don't use words in a grammatically correct fashion but communication happens nonetheless.  Context is extremely important.

By naming his establishment ladybuffet, the owner is trying to make a statement.  I, as an outsider, may not get it.  The Thai people who visit will likely not understand the English meaning, but will probably understand the owner's meaning better than I.  For even though ladybuffet looks and spells like English, it is probably more of a Thai word than an English one.

So as we continue to try to improve our Thai language skills, we move beyond the words, to the context:

What did they say before and after?
What was their body language saying?
What was the venue in which it was spoken?
Are they, for cultural reasons, not actually saying what they mean?
What is the status of the speaker relative to the listener?
How do the speaker and the listener perceive each other?

Sometimes it can be rather simple to try to say what I mean.  At other times it can be quite complicated.

As I move into a new role here, where I am often in a leadership position in meetings, I have to think about these things a lot more.  What might have worked well for me in North America, may not work so well here.

I tend to speak short and to the point.  Why say something in 10 words if you can say it in 5?  Why do we need a 30 minute sermon if we can say the same thing in 10 minutes?

The Khmu people are storytellers.  They go on for several minutes giving background and context before they get to the main subject.  Sometimes I get lost before they get there and I'm wondering what they are talking about.

I, on the other hand, probably come across as if I don't care about them because I speak so directly.

As one leading a meeting, do I need to put the brakes on and redirect a speaker or do I let them continue?  (I usually tend to let them speak more so I can speak less.)

This past week I went to visit one of our church leaders known as Uncle John.  I didn't really have a lot to say.  John had lots to say.  Several days later he was still overflowing with gratitude, not because I went to say something to him, but because I spent time with him.  "Worth more than gold," he said.

Sometimes in communication one just needs context, words aren't so important.

For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven: 
    ... a time to keep silence, and a time to speak;  (Ecclesiastes 3:1, 7b)