It is quite magnificent to experience
life situations where God takes you out of your ordinary routine and lets you
see His work, while at the same time not realizing that He is in fact working
not only with the people you encounter but also with you. This past weekend, I got to experience one of
those as I went to a laid back and very welcoming place in Negros (an island
west of Cebu).
I, along with three others, went to
Negros to speak at an annual gathering of the Church of Christ youth. After a long (about 8 hours drive and an hour
on a boat) journey on Dec. 27th, we arrived at the humble but very
accommodating home of one of the Cebu Bible College students whose family lives
in the area. They were very kind,
offering us some very tasty meals (of course, “tasty” is a relative term) and
giving us lodging throughout our entire stay.
In addition to the tasty meals, we also got to savor some of the stuff
that only the province can provide—such as swimming and playing on a clean,
fresh, and crystal clear creek, enjoying the fresh air, getting to see the moon
and the stars clearly at night, and being able to hear again the sound of the
crickets in the dark.
This marvelous experience was far from
over as many of the youth gathered together at a resort on the 28th. Although the rural area may seem to be
struggling financially, the hearts of those young ones were beaming with
passion and desire to become better disciples.
One could easily see that God was preparing a very bright future for
them, intending to make them a brilliant light on that island. The theme for their gathering was “Walking in
God’s Light.” Ironically, I sort of felt
that there was no need for me to speak to them about becoming a light because I
could see that they already were a brilliant light. Nevertheless, they seemed to be encouraged
with what I delivered. During the
gathering, they played a lot of games, did a number of team building
activities, sang together, prayed for everyone, and encouraged their fellow
Christians.
Going back to Cebu, I was mesmerized
with the experience. Throughout my
Christian upbringing, I saw a lot of bickering and fighting concerning the
“true doctrine” of the church. I saw a
lot of negativity among many of those whom people looked up to for spiritual
guidance. However on the contrary, the
youth at Negros had displayed what those staunch brethren in the past had
failed to learn—that is, encouraging one another instead of putting others
down. They lived out the true essence of
Christianity. This reminded me of what
Jesus showed to the staunch Jewish leaders of His day.
As I mentioned above, God seemed to be
working more on me than He was with those folks I delivered my message to. Primarily, He was giving me a glimpse that
darkness has not conquered every corner of this world because there are those
who have set their brilliant light on a hill in order to shine God to
others. The young people at Negros have
displayed a kind of light that draws others to God. Also, God was teaching me that the near
future doesn’t look as bad. There are
plenty of young sprouts who are willing to be used for God’s glory… and they
are on fire.
