Beyond Their Feelings

Do you find it challenging to love the people who hate you? How about serving them?

 God has given me the opportunity to spend time with the mothers of our students at the school in Kisenji, where a large Karamojong community reside (if you have not heard about the school, read the previous post). I started meeting with them once a week and am seeking my way to building relationships with them. Trying to teach them the Bible, how to be a mom, wife, etc. Challenging to say the least. I feel worlds apart from them, and the color of our skin seems to be the smallest difference amidst us. In the midst of the separation God seems to be shining his glorious light. This certainly seemed to be the case last Friday. I have been storying different Bible stories and was having a hard time knowing what story to tell. After praying I felt compelled to just be real with them, to share my struggles and to share what God had been teaching me. After finding out how their week was, I began telling them the story of Luke 22:24-30. This is the story where the disciples and Jesus are celebrating the Passover with Jesus right before he is to be cruicified. The disciples are quarreling among themselves about who is the greatest. Jesus tells them that whoever wants to be great must serve, and think of himself as the lowest. After sharing the story I started walking them through some questions to faciliate discussion. They begin admiring how everyone in the story was together eating, and recognized that it was favorable to be together. Although I thought this was valuable for them to recognize I felt it is a value they already possess in their culture, I was nervous this was the only thing they might take away from the scripture. I prayed to myself and moved on, asking them more questions. One question I asked was, "How many see yourselves better than your children?" They were honest and said, "Daadong" meaning they all see themselves better than children. I share the story again and then it happened. "So is God telling us that we are not better than our co wife that we should love them and serve them?" (For sake of context you must know that many of the Karamojong are polygamists.) My heart starts to race, and my spirit is excited. This is going to be a challenging thing for them to grasp. It is a challenging idea for me to grasp and I can not fully put my self in their shoes. I have had to forgive people but this issue is a whole new realm for me. But I know someone that can relate, and who has. The woman begin talking among themselves and discussing, all the while my translator is doing his best to fill me in when he can, while also chiming in on the discussion. I listen while believing the spirit of God was moving and instructing, planting seeds. I only hope that God will continue to water the seeds and they will grow into luscious fruit. Then a wise, older woman in the group speaks up and says that Jesus commands us to love our enemies and challenges them to go beyond what our human nature tells us. I stood back in awe and I get excited that I serve a God who can relate. I serve a God who came down in the flesh. Who loved his enemies, who hangs in agony on the cross and says, "Forgive them Father for they know not what they do." I share my heart and Jesus sacrifice and challenge them to walk in His footsteps. Challenge them to call upon Jesus for help. Challenge them to go beyond their feelings.