I am not the center of your plans,
and yet you give me significance
as one special piece
of the enormous puzzle
that is your kingdom:
a breathing, sentient reality
that is growing into
your New Creation,
a wonder of wonders
that no evil can destroy.
So I just keep on saying it,
telling you that (paltry as it is)
I give you my love.
I add my tiny contribution
to the universal brew,
as if it were a fragment
of one of the herbs
adding its own flavor
to the libation
of worldwide love
poured out to you!
Here we are again, feet on African soil! These first three days have been spent in Abidjan, a huge growing city with a population estimated to be 5,867,000[1]. Glenn has been busy with business; I’ve had time to read and meditate, preparing for our major goal: work with our Nyarafolo coworkers up north in Ferkessédougou and the surrounding villages. That is like a whole other world, much smaller and more “traditional.” The people group we worked among for over 40 years, the Nyarafolo, are still “least-reached," with just a minority of Jesus-followers who truly know him (not just claiming a religious affiliation with some form of Christianity).
It is amazing to see what God has been able to accomplish during our 40+ years among them. When we came, there was just one village church and no Nyarafolo services in Ferke town. Now there are several church groups in varying degrees of development. Glenn preached a lot, and mentored pastors, while also serving the Baptist Hospital in many ways. I helped analyze the language linguistically, and along with coworkers (one SIL couple, Dave and Karen DeGraaf, and Nyarafolos we trained) put it in writing. Now they have the printed version of the New Testament, Pentateuch and Psalms in their language—and we are working to finish the rest of the Old Testament. In addition there is literature in Nyarafolo, and primers for teaching new readers.
We are going back to Ferke for just a few weeks. What can really be accomplished? Glenn has key challenges to address for the widows’ co-op chicken farm project that he has been establishing. I will just keep on doing my work, exegeting chapters in Isaiah, but face-to-face when we translate, doing all that I can to encourage the team.
It often seems so small, each little step taken. We each play our part, but none of these things could be done if it depended solely on us. There are all the national coworkers involved, and also all our supporters who pray, and those who make it financially possible for us to be here, pay salaries, and help the needy. Contemplating this helps me to put it all in perspective.
The Lord has a purpose for each of us in his Family. He shows the way forward when we pay attention to his guidance. And our response should be to willingly do it, not merely out of duty, but because he has poured his love into our hearts through his Spirit. That love gives us peace and joy in him and all that he has promised us, as well as endurance when things get tough:
1 Therefore, since we have been declared righteous by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, 2 through whom we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in the hope of God’s glory. 3 Not only this, but we also rejoice in sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, 4 and endurance, character, and character, hope. 5And hope does not disappoint, because the love of God 5 has been poured out in our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us. (Rom. 5:1-5 NET)
This love is what we give to him in return. It is gratitude, but it is also deep appreciation for him as we grow in our personal relationship with him, getting to know him and love him. It is his self-giving love that moves us forward:
14 For Christ’s love compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all, and therefore all died. 15 And he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again. (2 Cor. 5:13 NIV)
These truths are not new for most of us, but recognizing their impact on us can get shoved away under the flurry of activities. We live for Christ because of his sacrificial love for everyone. Now, living for him, our love should be like that too! We are where he places us so that we can live out that love. It does take practice, which leads to daily growth:
But practicing the truth in love, we will in all things grow up into Christ, who is the head. From him the whole body grows, fitted and held together through every supporting ligament. As each one does its part, the body grows in love. (Eph. 4:15,16 NET)
This is what he expects from me, from all of us who are in his “body.” We each have a part to play. I like the example of how hard it is for one finger to pick up something if the thumb is not available. We need each other, and are to work together in love. As we do so, the “body grows in love.”
This is what I will be practicing here: doing my little bit of the huge work that God is doing around the world. It is what you are to do as well, wherever you are and whatever he has put before you. Then the worldwide “body” will increasingly demonstrate love in its ways of working together, and outsiders will be attracted to the loving company of God’s people—especially when we show that same kind of love to them as well!
Linnea's Lines 