Day 10: Obedient Children and the Incarnation
One of the village realities we could almost always count on during our early years in Uria Village in Papua New Guinea was our neighbor walking to the edge of her “camp” and calling her children, at the top of her lungs, to come home. We could also almost always count on those kids to run the other direction and disappear into the bush. As one mother there once said, “Our children never do anything we tell them to do.”
When we moved to Uria in 1997, we wanted to imitate Jesus in all things, so that in some measure our friends would see what it is to follow Jesus. We watched them to learn their language and culture, they watched us to learn what we were like and, hopefully, see Jesus’ life in us.
Sometimes, their observations of us were surprising. One day I went out to talk with a neighbor who was getting on in years. His back hurt a lot and as a result, he was up and down a lot in the night.”Did you get up after midnight and use the toilet?” “Yes,” I replied. “Did you walk down the hallway of your house with your flashlight and then walk back to the other end again?” “Yes, why do you ask?” “Just curious. I heard and saw it all.” Yikes! They were watching us!
Another time one of the village mamas was sitting in the grass, talking with Angela. “When we call for our kids to come home, they never come. We call until we are hoarse and they do whatever they want. When you call your kids, they come the first time.” Hmmm . . . We trained our children to first-time obedience because we wanted to have an enjoyable life with them, to teach them respect (and of course obedience) and to teach them to obey the Lord the first time. I don’t guess it really crossed our minds that our friends would inadvertently see Jesus in it. “Why do they listen to you?” they asked.
The big word used to succinctly describe Jesus’ coming is incarnation, which can be translated from Latin as in the flesh. You will find the concept described in detail in John 1:1-14. At Christmas, we hear the story of Jesus being born of a virgin and being laid in a feed box in a cave. Angels sang praises that broke through time and space and spilled into our world. Kings and wise men worshiped the baby. Prophets were consoled. Shepherds were awestruck. Herod schemed. From the day of his birth, Jesus was surrounded by onlookers, curious spectators, penitent worshipers, men and women and children awed and astounded at his manner of life and the words that flowed from his mouth.
When we tried to live like Jesus in Uria Village, there were plenty of onlookers, curious spectators, and those who would follow Jesus watching us. Yet even as they watched us, that watching could only yield so much fruit in their lives. The Somau Garia had no amount of Scripture in the language that speaks most dearly to them. Our example was imperfect and subject to our understanding of Scripture and our ability to consistently live out our understanding. They need for us to live Jesus-honoring lives to be sure. More importantly, though, they need access to the Word of God in the language that speaks to their heart. They need it to penetrate, convict, and transform.
If you follow Jesus, you already have much of what is needed to provide access to the Word of God in their heart language. First, you have time. All of us have 24 hours per day, graciously given to us by our Father. You have the Holy Spirit living within you. Put the two together and you find a tremendous capacity for prayer. Most of us in the West also have resources that exceed our basic needs. All of these gifts can be employed to historically change an entire people.
Thank you for your kindness in responding to these tremendous opportunities!
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