The more I watch and learn, the more the power of indigenous-ness (copyright on that word pending) is impressed upon me. This leads to two still budding but important realizations for me …
Numero Uno. Non-westerners need to know they are called AND equipped to reach those that surround them … it is not the job of those with more money, or more training, or more anything. In fact, as I write this, I realize it is something westerners need to learn too. It would be silly to be sitting next to my friend Coni and tell someone that they should go inside to Harold so that he could introduce them to her because he knows more about her and has known her longer, when I am sitting right there and can introduce her myself. But that is what so many of us do when talking about introducing someone to our Savior … we feel like someone else is better trained, better equipped, to do that. True, there is always someone with more training, more equipping, and we should be striving to increase those resources of our brothers and sisters around the world, but we dare not forget that those chosen by our Lord were the common men and women, equipped simply with the knowledge of Him who saves and His Holy Spirit.
Numero Dos. To find ways to maximize my own indigenous-ness. I’m not gonna lie, I’ve always heard the “it’s just as important to reach out to your neighbor as it is to move to Africa” as a cozy pat on the back to everyone who doesn’t “want” to be on the foreign field. But I’m realizing that I can reach out to my neighbor in ways that someone from another country could not, and vice versa. A truth misused doesn’t make it untrue.
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It's weird you mention this because I was just contemplating this sort of thing. Britt and I just saw the movie 'Blood Diamond'. I saw the previews and it looked like a good action flic-which it was. But it was so much more than that. We left the theater with so many thoughts rushing through our mind. How can we help? What can we do to impact people thousands of miles away from us? If we give money will that do anything? If we donate our time, will that affect anyone? These questions seem impossible to answer. We have a desire to impact and help those in need, but sometimes we can't get to them. It is my prayer that I will be impacting those around me while praying for them and those that I cannot affect. I will do my best to focus on helping those I can instead of those I can't.
The other night was truly the first time in a long time that I really thought about the fact that I could choose to live life for something else. And as I kept thinking about this indigenous-thing, I thought "wouldn't it be nice if there was just a straightforward statement from God about how to do this whole spread the Gospel thing? Could it really be as simple as focusing on your neighbor?". Yeah, and that's when I heard this still small voice reminding me that He DID tell us ... Love Him, Love our neighbor - THERE IS NO GREATER COMMANDMENT. Kind of glazed over that phrase before.
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