This is the first in a series of blog posts reflecting on my
time in Romania. I've chosen to break it
up into smaller nuggets because I don't like reading really long blog posts and
I'm guessing you don't either... but there is much to share!
Many of you that know me well know that I was created for
adventure. That I'm far from content
living an average life as an American.
When I was young, I had a dream of being rich with a big house, a white
picket fence, a bunch of children, in the suburbs of America. Looking back at that now, it seems more like
a nightmare. It should come as no
surprise then, that when I leave the country I have the time of my life. This summer I got to go to Europe for 3 weeks
and spend 2 in Romania. It was incredible.
We were there to help Jim Morgan with his ministry Cinema on
Wheels, but it was so much more than that.
I was captivated by the culture.
Every little thing about it. Jim
was probably tired of all my questions.
What is this for? Why do they do this? What do they think about this?
etc. The best part of the culture were
the Christians. The Christians that I
got to know in Romania were different.
Different than I'm used to here.
I worked with a group of young people that were an inspiration to me. Teenagers that had taken Jesus' words
seriously and answered the call to serve him with their lives. Not Jesus plus all their other plans... just
Jesus. My initial thought was, wow,
Christian teenagers like this actually exist.
That was a refreshing realization.
(I say that as an exaggeration, I know some other Christian teens like
this. One of them came with me).
I love the theme verse for Cinema on Wheels, because it's
exactly what we were doing. Luke 14:23 “Then
the master told his servant, ‘Go out to the roads and country lanes and compel
them to come in, so that my house will be full.'" The parable that this is quoted from is very
intriguing. I've spent some time
studying it. Go and read Luke 14:15-24
and then come back here. God's not
interested in your excuses, he wants all of you. I like Warren Wiersbe's thoughts on it.
People today make the same mistake that the people in the parable made: they delay in responding to the invitation because they settle for second best. There is certainly nothing wrong with owning a farm, examining purchases, or spending an evening with your wife. But if these good things keep you from enjoying the best things, then they become bad things. The excuse-makers were actually successful people in the eyes of their friends, but they were failures in the eyes of Jesus Christ. 1
In
Romania, in a very literal sense, we went "out to the roads and country
lanes and [compelled] them to come".
And they came. We would walk down
the village road inviting people to come. And they came. James and I helped with the ministry for 8
nights. 5 of those nights over 100
people came. Everyone that was there
heard the Gospel. I don't know how many
people responded to it, I don't think we need to keep a soul saving tally to
boost our own pride. We simply invited
them to the Great Banquet.
[1]
Wiersbe, W. W. (1996). The Bible
exposition commentary (Vol. 1, p. 231). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.
