To the Ends of the Earth
I waited my place the serving line of the church fellowship hall as we made our way toward the delicious display of Asian food that was spread out on the tables before us. The young American lady who stood before me asked, “What is that?” “It’s frog legs,” I replied and watched as she raised her hand to her mouth in shock and disbelief. She passed over the frog legs and heaped her plate with fried fish, which appeared a lot safer to her.
After we heaped out plates, we made our way to the tables that were beautifully decorated for the Chinese New Year. The table where I sat was filled with people from Taiwan, Beijing and South Korea. Other tables held people from other cities and nations in Asia, including one man from Nepal.
As we all finished our dinner, an American man led us in a short devotional from God’s word and a personal testimony about what he thought God was asking of him for the coming year. He asked us each to do the same, so many of us witnessed to what God was speaking into our hearts and lives at the present time.
It was a beautiful time of bearing witness to God among the nations without having to leave home. It wasn’t a time to play it safe, but rather one when we could boldly speak the truth of God’s love as it applied to each of us in the context of our own lives. While most of the folks present were Christians, some were not. Nevertheless, everyone was treated with love and respect.
The gentleman from Taiwan who sat beside me finally rose and led us all in singing some songs in Mandarin that he had printed out for us.
Jesus tells the apostles in Act 1:8; “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you. And you will be my witnesses, telling people about me everywhere — in Jerusalem, throughout Judea, in Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”
May the Lord lead us in the power of the Holy Spirit to not play it safe, but to bear witness to the whole world of His Son, Jesus Christ. Sometimes we even get the chance to do so without a plane ticket.
