Bimala, 17 years old, lives in Nepal. Like many women in Nepal, Bimala was lured into India by a man who promised her a future. He promised to take her traveling to beautiful places in India and buy her expensive clothes. After luring her into India, however, it became clear he had sinister plans. Thankfully, Bimala escaped and was rescued at the border station in Biratnagar, Nepal by Our Daughters International, a non-profit that has rescued thousands of girls from sex trafficking. Our Daughters not only rescues these women but also provides training in skilled jobs so that they become independent. Many have formed their own thriving businesses. You can hear their stories at https://www.ourdaughtersinternational.org/. When you listen to their stories, you see how change in the world begins one life at a time through people who care for others, offering them dignity and hope.
I don’t know about you, but when I read or listen to the news, I get frustrated about the mess our world is in, and the future seems dangerous and hopeless. I especially tire of the endless divisiveness and narcissism here in the United States. And then I read about people in other parts of the world who are struggling just to find food to eat, clean water to drink, or shelter from political corruption or sexual abuse. While I feel ashamed of all that I take for granted here in my country, I am also amazed at the good things happening throughout the world. I see hope. People living under difficult circumstances are changing their communities (and countries) through selfless acts of love and mercy, and through sharing the announcement that God does care and is actively involved in our world. You may know this, but the future of Christianity is not here in the United States. It is in China, Africa, and Latin and South America. Sub-Saharan Africa’s share of the global Christian population is forecast to rise from 24% in 2010 to 38% in 2050.[1] In addition, population growth of Christians in Asia and the Pacific is projected to be higher (33%) than the overall population growth in that region (22%) as Christianity spreads rapidly throughout China and Asia. Jesus is on the move in those areas of the world, such as China, that will exert major influence on the rest of the world in the coming decades.
A HARVEST FESTIVAL
Like many churches, the church I attend sets aside the month of November as a time to thank God for all He has provided and to “give back” a portion to help others. This practice has roots in the ancient Jewish harvest festival, where the Israelites were commanded to set aside a tenth of their harvest. That tenth was to be enjoyed by the Israelites in a harvest festival of thanksgiving. But a portion of that tenth was also to be used so that “the aliens, the fatherless and the widows who live in your towns may come and eat and be satisfied, and so that the Lord your God may bless you in all the work of your hands” (Deut. 14:29). During this month of November, our church, like others, highlights and dedicates giving for such things as: to help women escape sex trafficking in India; to educate, feed and love orphans in Haiti; to rebuild towns devastated by hurricanes in Haiti and Honduras; to provide food to starving refugees fleeing Venezuela; and most of all, to provide hope by sharing the Good News of God’s Love to one person at a time (you can hear some “Stories from the Field” at https://www.firstcolonychurch.org/).[2]
In a sense, we are participating in a “harvest” festival, a partnership with God in His rescue of humanity at large. I firmly believe Jesus Christ is the hope of civilization and of humanity everywhere, because Jesus is “God with us.” He shows us that all is not lost; change is happening today in the same way Jesus has transformed the world over the last 2,000 years. Jesus is very much on the move, and He asks us to partner with Him. Jesus said “You know the saying, ‘Four months between planting and harvest.’ But I say, wake up and look around. The fields are already ripe for harvest” (John 4:35). Which reminds me of one of Jesus’ miracles.
YOU GIVE THEM SOMETHING TO EAT
There is one miracle that Jesus did that is mentioned in all four gospels. It is the miracle, the miracle that stayed with the apostles for the rest of their lives. With two loaves and five fish, Jesus somehow fed over 10,000 people. That’s enough people to fill a stadium. Families scattered on the hills as far as the eye could see. Little boys chasing each other, toddlers crawling up hills, families intermingling with other families. They had been with Jesus for days, and they had listened to him all day long. But now they were hungry and getting a little restless. The apostles were getting uneasy. “Jesus, we’ve got to do a little planning here. The sun’s going down, and these people are getting hungry. You need to stop talking and let’s get these people on their way to town so they can get something to eat.”
“You give them something to eat.”
“What?”
“You give them something to eat.”
“We give them something to eat?!! What do you mean? (The apostles are thinking: “I still don’t get this guy”). “How can we give them something to eat? We’d have to go into town and buy a ton of food and that would take a day to do and, besides, it would take $50,000 to feed all these folks. That’s why we’re telling you: dismiss the crowds and let them go get something to eat!”
“What do you have there in that sack?”
“Two loaves of bread and some fish, but….”
“Give them to me.”
And with that, Jesus fed all the people, and had just enough left over so that each apostle got his own basketful of food (there were, oddly enough, 12 baskets left over). How did He do it? I don’t know. Did He do it? I’ve got to believe he did, or else one of those apostles surely would have recanted this fish story rather than die a martyr’s death.
But the real question is “Why did he do it?” To feed the hungry? Sure, Jesus often performed miracles simply because he saw a need. To elicit belief from the masses? Doubtful. That was the great temptation that Jesus stayed away from. Maybe one important reason was to show the apostles that God could do it through them. This was the one miracle that made the apostles realize that they could do amazing things if God was behind it. This was the one miracle that the twelve participated in directly. Each had a hand. Here was Andrew finding the boy, here was Philip bringing the boy to Jesus, here was John taking a loaf from Jesus and handing it to Bartholomew, here was Peter telling James to take these baskets down the hill, here were all 12 rummaging the hillside to make sure everyone was fed. Here was what Jesus delighted in his followers getting to experience their part in the miracle. Don’t you know when Thaddeus was handing out those baskets to the hungry folks, he was thinking, “I don’t know how this is happening, but this sure is fun!”
That is the way God works. He doesn’t just do the extraordinary, he lets us be partners with him in it. In that great battle scene in C.S. Lewis’ The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, Aslan, the great lion who typifies Christ, is leading the charge against the wicked witch. Aslan roars from the front, “Those who are good with their noses must come in front with us lions to smell out where the battle is.” The only other lion in the group of animals immediately starts beaming: “Did you hear what he said? Us Lions. Us Lions. That’s what I like about Aslan. No standoffishness. Us Lions. That meant him and me.”[3] Us Lions. That means you and Him, Him and me. Jesus, the great Lion of the Tribe of Judah, raises his mane and says: “You give them something to eat.”
Just think about the impact God will make through you if you step out and participate in what He is doing all over the world. “The fields are ripe for harvest.”
[1] See Pew Research Center “The Future of World Religions: Population Growth Projections 2010-2050” at https://www.pewforum.org/2015/04/02/christians/.
[2] In addition to Our Daughters International, check out these ministries offering hope throughout the world: Mission Lazarus (https://www.missionlazarus.org/) and Hope for Haiti’s Children (https://www.hopeforhaitischildren.org/).
[3] C.S. Lewis, The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, New York: Harper Trophy, 1950, 174.